yV^v-t^v, 


lA/v  lOOC 


^^< 


trp 


MANY    LANDS 


AND 


MANY    PEOPLE. 


With    One    Hundred    and    Forty-Seven    Illustrations. 


Mk 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

1875. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

SEARCHING   FOR   THE   QUININE   PLANT   IN   PERU         ....  5 

SITE   AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF   ATHENS 54 

THE   ROUMI    IN   KABYLIA 66 

SKETCHES   OF   EASTERN   TRAVEL: 

I.  The  Count  de  Beauvoir  in  China 118 

II;  Batavia 130 

HI.  Bangkok 141 

AT   HOME   WITH    THE   PATAGONIANS 149 

A   TOUR    IN   THE    CHINA   SEAS 173 

IN   A   CARAVAN   WITH   GEROME   THE   PAINTER 191 

WITH   THE   COUNT   DE   BEAUVOIR   IN    JAPAN   AND   CALIFORNIA  221 

■CONSTANTINOPLE 233 

WANDERINGS   IN   PALESTINE 241 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Conajess,  in  the  year  1874,  by 

J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  &  CO., 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Searching  for  the  Quinine-plant  in  Peru. 


ip^i^T   :pii^.st. 


A  SOUTH  AMERICAN  storm  was 
descending  like  a  deluge,  and  the 
night  was  closing  in — a  mid-winter  night, 
for  the  month  was  July.  A  man  wrapped 
in  a  cloak  streaming  with  wet  pushed 
his  way  through  a  house  in  a  Peruvian 
city,  until  he  came  to  a  bed-chamber 
where  a  solitary  traveler  was  sitting 
among  his  note-books. 

The  city  was  the  capital  of  Inca  civ- 
ilization— Cuzco,  the  Rome  of  the  New 
World.  The  visitor  was  Don  Juan  Sanz 
of  Santo  Domingo,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  that  place.  And  the  Marco  Polo  was 
Mr.  Paul  Marcoy. 

"  What  has  got  into  your  head  to 
come  out  in  such  weather?"  frankly 
asked  the  latter. 

"I  have  something  serious  to  discuss 
with  you,"  answered  Don  Juan,  as  he 
took  off  his  water-clogged  mantle  and 
seated  himself  near  the  table.  "  A  bear- 
er of  despatches  has  just  come  to  me 
from  Lima.  He  is  bound  to  return  to- 
morrow with  the  answer  which  I  am 
asked  to  make,  and,  before  deciding  on 
that  answer,  it  has  occurred  to  me  to  see 
you,  to  talk  with  you,  and,  in  a  word,  to 
ask  a  service." 

"  Shall  it  be  a  loan  of  a  few  hundred 
thousand  piastres  for  one  of  your  spec- 
ulations ?" 

"  Do  not  joke  :  I  am  talking  quite  se- 


riously. The  service  I  have  to  ask  Mil 
only  demand  a  little  of  your  good- nature 
and  the  sacrifice  of  a  few  months  of  your 
time." 

"  A  few  months  !  You  are  too  modest. 
And  what  shall  I  be  doing  during  those 
few  months  ?" 

"Nothing  but  what  is  very  simple. 
You  shall  walk  about  during  a  part  of 
the  day ;  you  will  observe ;  you  will 
take  notes ;  you  will  replenish  your 
sketch-book.  Besides  this,  you  shall  eat 
and  drink  when  you  like,  you  shall  rest 
when  you  are  lazy,  and  when  evening 
comes  you  shall  sleep  if  you  feel  like  it." 

"But  that  is  precisely  what  I  am  do- 
ing here." 

"  No  doubt.  I  only  imagined  that  in 
order  to  render  me  a  good  turn  you 
would  be  willing  to  do  it  elsewhere." 

"  Elsewhere  ?  What  is  the  locality  of 
'  elsewhere'  ?  Come,  let  me  see  what  is 
asked  of  me.     What  is  all  this  about?" 

"  It  is  about  filling  a  vacancy  in  one 
of  my  enterprises." 

"You  forget  that  I  know  nothing  of 
commerce." 

"Nor  is  it  a  commercial  operation  1 
ask  you  to  take  part  in,  but  simply  some 
prehminaries  which  I  hope  will  lead  to 
one.  I  must  explain.  You  are  aware 
that  I  have  contributed  a  httle  influence 
and  a  deal  of  money  to  the  job  of  put- 

5 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


ting  Senor  Mcnendez  at  the  head  of  this 
nation.  He  is  now  joyfully  paying  his 
debts  with  the  gold  out  of  the  treasury, 
and  he  owes  that  felicity  in  part  to  me. 
As  I  am  not  the  man  to  allow  a  benefit 
to  be  forgotten,  I  have  asked  him  plain- 
ly to  do  me  a  favor  in  return.  I  want 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  commerce  in 
the  cinchona  trees  in  our  eastern  valleys. 
They  say  the  forests  are  full  of  them. 
What  do  you  see  in  it  ?" 

"  It  is  the  kind  of  thing  that  either 
makes  a  Croesus  of  a  man  or  leaves  him 
flat  on  his  back.  But  what  did  the 
president  reply  ?" 

"  That  I  should  have  the  privilege  just 
as  soon  as  I  should  discover  the  trees. 
He  exacts  one  thing,  however.  There 
must  be  an  '  interviewer.'  The  fame  of 
the  cinchona-discovery  must  be  worked 
up  in  the  newspapers  at  Lima.  The 
world  must  ring  with  those  trees — ^as 
soon  as  we  find  them.  Sentimental  and 
humorous  fever-stories  in  the  feuilletons 
— a  series  of  botanical  treatises,  with  the 
latitude  and  longitude  of  the  habitat,  in 
the  official  paper.  He  writes  me  that 
he  wishes  to  have  the  nations  of  the 
world  in  general,  and  the  South  Amer- 
ican republics  in  particular,  imbibe  a 
lively  idea  of  the  resources  of  the 
country." 

"The  South  American  frog  still  swell- 
ing up  to  equal  the  North  American  ox !" 

"Under  the  circumstances  I  have 
thought  of  giving  you  an  honorable 
place  in  the  expedition.  You  shall 
sketch  and  botanize  as  you  like.  And 
you  may  write  it  up.  Verarevenga,  at 
Lima,  shall  translate  you." 

"Very  well.  I  see  something  prom- 
ising in  your  offer.  I  will  give  it  my 
ripe  consideration,  and  you  shall  have 
my  answer  in  a  week." 

"  I  shall  hardly  wait  a  week.  If  you 
make  up  your  mind  to  go,  it  must  be 
done  while  I  am  folding  this  cigarette. 
My  despatch-bearer  is  waiting  to  go  back 
with  my  answer  to  Senor  Menendez." 

"  You  will  certainly  accord  me  a  couple 
of  hours  for  reflection  ?" 

"Not  a  couple  of  minutes.  I  have 
others  to  see.  Perez,  the  retired  colonel 
Manuel  Perez,  will  go.     And  I  must  de- 


cide upon  a  trustworthy  agent  to  send  to 
Bolivia  after  the  bark-searchers.  Once 
for  all :  do  you  accept  my  proposition  ?" 

"Well,  yes,  since  there  is  nothing  else 
to  be  done."  Mr.  Marcoy  looked  hastily 
at  his  gun,  his  saddle-bags  and  his  ward- 
robe,    "What  is  the  hour  of  starting?" 

"  Oh,  you  will  not  start  for  three  weeks. 
It  will  take  that  long  to  bring  up  my 
Bolivians.  I  am  told  the  bark-hunters 
of  Sorata  are  very  skillful,  and  I  intend 
to  draft  five  or  six  of  them." 

"Take  your  time,  Don  Juan.  And 
now,  good-night.  Look  in,  if  you  hap- 
pen to  be  passing,  in  three  weeks,  and 
you  will  find  me  with  my  spurs  on,  sit- 
ting on  a  saddle." 

Don  Juan  Sanz  de  Santo  Domingo 
grasped  the  hand  of  the  traveler  and 
vanished  into  the  driving  storm.  He 
was  used  to  it,  for  it  rains  in  Cuzco,  say 
the  Peruvians,  thirteen  months  out  of 
the  year.  He  was  not,  however,  a  native 
of  the  town.  The  enterprising  and  the 
prosperous  are  not  born  in  a  mountain- 
city  full  of  Indians.  Alighting  in  Amer- 
ica from  his  native  Spain  while  still  a 
youth,  he  had  hunted  fortune  through  a 
number  of  places  on  the  Pacific  coast 
and  the  sierras,  and  had  finally  settled 
at  Cuzco.  In  this  remote  spot  he  ex- 
hibited to  the  priests  and  the  idlers  the 
phenomenon  of  a  merchant  and  a  man 
of  the  world.  He  carried  on  his  affairs 
with  a  deal  of  noise,  attacked  the  most 
hazardous  enterprises,  incurred  the  most 
desperate  obligations,  and  threaded  the 
old  Inca  routes  with  his  caravans  and  his 
emissaries.  He  was  fond  of  interfering 
with  politics,  and  was  never  more  agree- 
ably occupied  than  in  backing  Juan  Jose 
against  Juan  Pedro,  supporting  with  his 
funds  the  intrigues  of  a  presidential  can- 
didate and  preparing  the  downfall  of  the 
president  nominated  by  the  nation.  To 
fix  the  public  eye  upon  himself,  and 
teach  the  echoes  the  sound  of  his  name, 
appeared  to  be  the  object  of  this  bold 
Andalusian,  whose  style  and  features 
betrayed  more  of  the  Moorish  part  of 
his  ancestry  than  of  the  Spanish. 

He  had  established  himself  in  a  large 
house  on  the  street  of  Las  Heladerias, 
where  the  historian  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega 


RBC 
NcU 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  FERP  ^ 

was  born  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth   '  of   Cuzco,  it  had  for  its  basement  old 
century.    Like  the  majority  of  the  houses  I  walls  of  the  time  of  the  Incas :    these 


old  foundations  are  never  colored  or  :  dates  from  the  time  of  Pizarro,  who,  to 
whitewashed,  while  the  rest  is  always  economize  time  and  workmanship,  con- 
daubed  with  tinted  lime.    This  speciality      tented  himself  with  discrowning  the  old 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


edifices  and  erecting  new  stories  upon 
the  old  basements.  Thanks  to  thjs  cir- 
cumstance— a  happy  one  for  archaeolo- 
gists— the  city  is  only  transformed,  as  it 
were,  Jown  to  the  middle  of  the  body, 
the  upper  half  being  Catholic  and  mod- 
ern, the  lower  heathen  and  antique.  It 
was  composed,  like  most  of  the  better 
houses  of  South  America,  of  a  large 
ground- floor  room  for  stores,  carriages 
or  magazine,  and  a  second  story  :  in- 
teriorly, it  developed  an  oblong  court- 
yard, arched  on  three  sides,  and  sup- 
porting on  these  arches  a  wooden  gal- 
lery which  communicated  with  the  bed- 
rooms. The  arches  were  full  of  noisy 
bird-cages  and  the  court  of  sprawling 
weeds,  which  the  orders  of  the  master 
saved  from  disturbance.  The  mansion, 
by  its  peculiar  Bohemian  air  and  its 
festal  lights  visible  long  after  midnight, 
was  a  part  of  the  advertisement  of  its 
owner.  The  creditors  of  Don  Juan,  the 
lawyers  and  professors,  gave  it  out  as 
immoral  and  revolutionary.  Another 
portion  of  the  citizens,  the  aristocrats, 
the  higher  functionaries,  and  certain 
members  of  the  clergy  who  appreciated 
costly  wine  and  a  varied  bill  of  fare, 
sang  its  praises  in  full  chorus,  and  con- 
ferred upon  it,  for  reasons  not  worth 
searching  out,  the  name  of  the  Casa  de 
Austria. 

During  the  three  weeks  agreed  upon 
for  time  of  grace  the  master  of  the  House 
of  Austria  bestirred  himself  in  laying  up 
provisions  of  a  variety  which  indicated 
on  his  part  a  profound  knowledge  of  the 
human  stomach.  Nothing  was  forgot- 
ten in  this  gastronomic  museum — beef 
cut  in  strips,  smoked  mutton,  dried  and 
root  vegetables,  rice,  sugar,  chocolate, 
coffee,  to  say  nothing  of  biscuits  and 
conserves ;  then,  to  lubricate  the  masti- 
cation of  these  arid  viands,  wines  of 
Spain  and  France,  or  so  denominated, 
Jamaica  rum  brought  from  Abancay, 
and  Martinique  absinthe  made  up  by  a 
certain  old  lady  in  Cuzco.  Besides  these 
commodities,  the  livelier  importations  of 
mules,  mozos  and  mule-drivers  filled  the 
court,  and  reduced  its  vegetable  carpet 
to  bareness.  But  what  mattered  to  the 
proprietor  of  the  House  of  Austria  the 


loss  of  a  few  tufts  of  herbage,  when  he 
saw  himself  in  fancy  the  proprietor  of 
entire  forests  of  trees  whose  bark  was 
gold? 

The  arrival  from  the  Bolivian  frontier 
of  half  a  dozen  bark-searchers,  or  casca- 
rilleros  —  flat-faced,  sepia-colored,  stolid 
Indians — in  charge  of  a  white  leader,  or 
examijiador  de  cascarilla,  brought  all 
the  activity  to  a  focus,  and  precipitated 
the  departure.  Not  the  least  of  these 
preparations  were  the  feasts  of  cere- 
mony. It  were  too  long  to  enumerate 
the  lunches,  collations  and  dinners 
which  were  offered  during  the  last  sev- 
en days  by  the  chief  of  the  House  of 
Austria  to  his  friends  and  acquaintances. 
It  is  enough  to  observe  that  at  the  last 
dinner  of  all,  two  priors  of  the  monastery, 
whose  names  charity  excuses  us  from 
giving,  passed  the  night  under  the  table, 
while  the  chief  of  police,  proudly  ex- 
posed on  top  of  it,  in  an  arm-chair  sur- 
rounded with  candles,  and  crowned  with 
preserved  fruits  from  the  dessert,  slept 
soundly,  oblivious  of  the  dance  which 
the  other  guests  conducted  around  him, 
his  secretary  at  their  head. 

At  last  came  the  day  of  departure. 
The  fact  of  the  hour  of  six  having  been 
fixed  for  the  start  was  a  sufficient  rea- 
son, in  Peru,  for  a  delay  which  was  only 
brought  to  a  close  at  high  noon.  At 
twelve  o'clock,  as  all  the  timepieces  in 
the  city  were  sounding,  the  master  of 
the  House  of  Austria  put  foot  in  stirrup 
to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  cav- 
alcade and  conduct  it  a  suitable  distance 
out  of  town.  As  the  troop  of  men, 
horses  and  mules  clattered  through  the 
streets,  the  inhabitants  of  Cuzco,  accord- 
ing to  their  hostility  or  sympathy  with 
Don  Juan,  saluted  the  caravan  with 
laughter  or  with  cheers.  In  half  an  hour 
the  last  house  of  the  suburb  of  the  Re- 
coleta  was  passed.  A  vast  plain,  sown 
with  white  houses,  gardens  and  fields, 
stretched  before  the  travelers  toward  the 
mountains.  The  Spaniards,  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  found  this  expanse  peo- 
pled with  forty  Inca  villages,  the  satel- 
lites of  the  great  city  of  Cuzco. 

The  last  appurtenance  of  the  city  of 
Cuzco  was  the  Tree  of  Farewells  (Cha- 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


chacu-mayoc),  whose  perforated  trunk 
and  sparse  foliage  soon  greeted  the  ex- 
cursionists on  a  slope  at  the  side  of  the 
road.  No  citizen  can  undertake  a  jour- 
ney without  an  impressive  leave-taking, 
performed  under  this  tree,  with  the  rela- 
tions and  friends  who  have  so  far  borne 
him  company.  Don  ^.--,.-- 
Juan  Sanz  de  Santo  p 

Domingo  was  not  the 
man  to  omit  so  noble  ^ 
a  ceremony,  wherein 
pathos  might  be  ad- 
vantageously joined 
with  splendor.  A 
whole  case  of  cham- 
pagne, at  six  dollars 
the  bottle,  was  dissi- 
pated on  the  occa- 
sion, leaving  only 
boards,  straw  and 
corks  beneath  the 
historic  tree,  planted 
by  the  fifth  Inca,  Ca- 
pacYupanqui.  Santo 
Domingo  drank  his 
glass  with  a  graceful 
toast  to  the  travelers 
he  was  so  soon  to  dis- 
miss. Colonel  Perez 
emptied  his  with  dis- 
dainful gravity,  in- 
stantly making  signal 
for  another.  Mar- 
coy,  alone  perhaps 
of  all  the  company, 
gave  a  thought,  as 
he  lifted  on  high  the 
beaded  nectar,  to  the 
past  splendors  and 
hapless  fall  of  the  city 
whose  clock  -  towers 
flashed  on  the  hori- 
zon. 

It  is  not  necessary 
here  to  supplement 
the  many  interesting  accounts  of  Cuzco 
that  have  now  and  again  been  publish- 
ed. Founded  in  the  eleventh  century 
by  Manco  Capac,  its  walls,  containing 
a  measure  of  thirty  -  three  thousand 
square  yards,  exist  at  the  present  time, 
and  form  the  mould  into  which  the 
modern  city  is  poured,  similar  in   plan 


and  extent  to  the  Inca  capital.  It  is  to- 
day the  ordinary,  rich,  slatternly,  priest- 
infested  town  of  Spanish  America,  with 
a  cathedral  fabulously  wealthy,  fifteen 
churches  and  thirteen  convents  and  re- 
ligious retreats. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  tell  again  of  the 


HK    KOUND    HIMSELF    IN   THE   ILLUMINATED   CHAl'EL   OK 
LALRAMARCA." — P.  12. 


fabulous  avatar  of  Manco  Capac  as  he 
springs  like  a  Neptune  from  the  waters 
of  Lake  Titicaca,  attended  by  his  divine 
sister,  Mama  Ocllo,  and  follows  the 
pointings  of  his  golden  rod  to  the  centre 
of  the  plain  of  Cuzco.  The  splendors 
of  Inca  civilization,  magnified  by  reflec- 
tion as  they  pass  into  the  tales  of  the 


lO 


SEAKCIIJNG  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


Spanish  historian,  have  left  few  visible 
remnpiits  except  an  old  fortress  or  two, 
son:e  walls  of  monstrous  stones,  and 
relics  of  pottery  which  adorn  the  parlors 
of  the  rich  merchants  of  the  town. 

"  It  is  time  to  move,"  at  last  said  Santo 
Domingo,  shattering  his  glass  against 
the  wrinkled  bark  of  the  tree.  "  It  is 
a  long  road  to  Huaro,  and  we  shall 
be  puzzled  to  make  it  before  daylight 
fails." 

In  fact,  the  evening  prayer,  the  An- 
gclus,  was  sounding  from  the  village 
church  as  the  cavalcade  entered  Huaro, 
a  hamlet  of  nine  hundred  inhabitants 
at  the  foot  of  the  sierras.  The  travelers 
instantly  reined  up  their  steeds  and  lifted 
their  hats,  and  listened,  in  a  silence  so 
profound  that  the  buzz  of  an  insect  would 
have  been  audible,  to  the  conclusion  of 
the  oracion.  When  the  bell  had  stop- 
ped vibrating  in  the  square  tower  of  the 
little  church,  and  the  llamas  in  the  door- 
yards  had  ceased  to  prick  up  their  sen- 
sitive ears  at  the  sound,  the  caravan 
recovered  its  hats :  each  one  bowed 
gravely  to  his  neighbor  in  Spanish  fash- 
ion, and  exchanged  with  him  the  cus- 
tomary salute,  "Buenas  noches,  senor." 

In  the  whole  of  Spanish  America,  but 
especially  in  the  larger  towns,  the  mo- 
ment of  the  Angelus  has  a  strange  at- 
traction for  the  stranger.  As  the  usage 
requires  every  one  to  halt,  no  matter 
where  he  may  be,  at  the  first  stroke  of 
the  bell,  to  interrupt  his  conversation 
however  important,  and  listen  without 
stirring  until  the  conclusion  of  the  chime, 
the  singularity  of  a  whole  population 
surprised  in  a  moment  as  it  comes  and 
goes,  held  in  a  state  of  petrifaction,  and 
paralyzed  as  if  by  an  enchanter,  may 
be  imagined.  On  every  side  you  see 
gestures  interrupted,  mouths  half  open- 
ed for  the  arrested  remark,  smiles  oddly 
lingering  or  passing  into  an  expression 
of  prayer.  You  would  fancy  a  nation 
of  statues.  A  town  in  South  America, 
at  the  tinkle  of  the  Angelus,  resembles 
the  city  in  the  Arabian  Nights  whose 
inhabitants  were  turned  into  stones. 
The  magician  here  is  the  bell-ringer. 
But  hardly  has  the  vibration  ceased 
when  a  universal  murmur  arises  from 


these  thousands  of  oppressed  lungs. 
Hand  meets  hand,  question  seeks  an- 
swer, conversations  resume  their  course  ; 
horses  feel  the  loosened  bridle  and  paw 
the  ground ;  dogs  bark,  babies  cry,  the 
fathers  swear  and  the  mothers  chatter. 
The  accidental  turns  thus  given  to 
conversation  are  many,  and  sometimes 
striking.  Thus,  on  the  present  occasion, 
the  never-satisfied  patriot  Perez  happen- 
ed to  have  been  conversing,  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  village,  on  his  favorite 
subject  with  the  lawyer  of  Don  Juan, 
who  was  accompanying  the  first  stage  of 
the  excursion  as  a  matter  of  politeness. 

"We  are  masters  of  the  situation," 
the  man  of  parchments  was  saying : 
"we  can  win  the  people,  and  we  have 
possession  of  half  the  arms.  At  a  given 
moment  we  march  upon  the  palace,  we 
demand  the  person  of  the  incumbent — 
Ave  Maria  pttrissima,"  continued  the 
lawyer,  with  a  remnant  of  his  severe  ex- 
pression, as  the  first  note  of  the  bell  of 
Huaro  smote  upon  the  air.  When  the 
last  sound  had  expired,  the  revolutionist 
jerked  his  head  with  the  quickness  of  a 
water-wagtail,  and  continued  furiously 
the  sentence  interrupted  five  minutes 
before  — "  to  be  hung  in  the  public 
square !" 

Passing  with  a  hospitable  inhabitant 
of  Huaro  a  night  that  had  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  an  orgy,  Don  Juan 
and  his  train  crossed  the  river  betimes 
next  day,  and  ascended  their  first  moun- 
tain-pass. Vertigo,  oppression  and  head- 
ache were  the  price  paid  by  some  of  these 
inexperienced  mountaineers  for  their  in- 
itiation into  the  mysteries  of  the  clouds. 
Recovering,  however,  before  these  un- 
pleasant symptoms  were  very  distinctly 
pronounced,  they  found  themselves,  at 
the  end  of  three  hours,  masters  of  the 
summit,  and  then  began  to  dip  into  the 
great  plain  beyond,  taking  their  course 
toward  the  south-south-east,  in  the  di- 
rection of  Lauramarca.  Passing  through 
the  ever-mellowing  temperatures  of  a 
descending  plain,  they  found  themselves, 
among  the  fresh  scents  of  a  circle  of 
enormous  farms,  and  entered  the  streets 
of  the  town  amid  the  cheers  and  salutes 
of  the  inhabitants. 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


1 1 


At  Lauramarca,  a  town  of  some  im-  i  richest  department  in  the  presidency  of 
portance  as  a  centre  of  agriculture — the  t  Cuzco — the  explorers   found,  as  every- 


l\^^'4, 


n  I  manifestation.     While  the  more 
is  '   part  of  the  troop,  however,  attend 
presence  was  the  signal  for  a  splendid  .  ball  given  in  his  honor  by  the  principal 


where  else,  that  the  reputation  of  Don  |  manifestation.     While  the  more  vulgar 
Juan  had  preceded   him,   and  that  his  '   part  of  the  troop,  however,  attended  the 


12 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


woolen-manufacturer  of  the  place,  and 
the  more  practical  explored  the  old  gold- 
and  silver-mines  of  the  neighborhood, 
Marcoy,  artist  and  scribbler,  betook  him- 
self to  a  more  pensive  employment. 
Leaving  the  dance  at  its  height,  he  stole 
out  into  tlic  cool  evening  air,  and  bent 


"  THIS   MAN,   BAREFOOT   AND   RAGGED,   WAS   THE   GOBERNADOR 
OF   MARCAPATA." — P.  I4. 


his  steps  toward  a  tall,  simply-shaped 
building,  whose  roof-windows,  stream- 
ing with  light,  attracted  his  attention. 
A  latch  in  the  wooden  door  gave  him 
easy  entrance.  He  found  himself  in  the 
illuminated  chapel  of  Lauramarca.  The 
walls,  entirely  without  ornament,  were 
covered  with  a  stucco  mixed  with  glue 


from  the  cactus,  which  shone  with  the 
precise  lustre  of  polished  ivory.  A  life- 
sized  image  of  the  \'irgin,  carved  in  a 
white,  translucent,  alabaster-like  stone 
from  Verenguela,  stood  upon  a  cube  of 
gray  granite  which  served  for  altar.  A 
multitude  of  candles,  set  upon  the  floor, 
pierced  the  pale  tops 
of  a  forest  of  lilies. 
The  perfume  of  these 
plants,  warmed  by 
the  lights,  filled  the 
room  to  the  point  of 
enervation.  The 
traveler  could  not 
recognize  without  a 
thrill  of  feeling  the 
familiar  odor  of  these 
flowers,  brought  by 
the  Spanish  colon- 
ists to  the  feet  of  the 
Andes,  and  now  fill- 
ing their  churches 
everywhere  with  a 
perfume  that  seems 
sacred  to  Rome  and 
Italy.  Between  the 
odorous  silence  of 
this  neglected  chapel 
and  the  feast  near 
by,  where  everybody 
had  gone  to  drink 
and  dance,  the  con- 
trast was  so  striking 
that  the  coldest  mind 
would  have  been 
seized  by  it. 

The  next  chain  to 
cross  was  that  of  the 
Andes  of  Avisca, 
the  attainment  of 
which  cost  the  trav- 
elers several  hours 
of  hard  climbing,  for 
which  their  dissipa- 
tions overnight  had 
but  ill  prepared  them.  However  sleepy 
were  the  eyes  that  gazed  upon  the  snow- 
capped summits,  they  could  not  but  ex- 
pand with  wonder  at  the  spectacle  of 
the  two  enormous  peaks  which  formed 
the  gateway  of  this  new  land  of  moun- 
tains, and  rose  into  the  pure  air  like 
two  slender  and  immeasurable  obelisks. 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


dwarfing  the  minor  tops  around  them. 
These  imposing  giants,  of  well-defined 
quadrangular  form,  and  smoothed  over 
with  bluish-colored  ice,  stood  at  each 
side  of  the  pass  as  if  they  supported  the 
sky.  The  Indians  name  them  the  Old 
Grandfather  and  Old  Uncle — Ausargate 
and  Tayangate. 

In  this  elevated 
region,  where  the 
strangers  were  sur- 
prised with  every 
possible  caprice  of 
mountainous  outline, 
the  scientific  spirit  of 
the  historiographer 
was  attracted  by  a 
curious  complication 
among  the  second- 
ary formations  of  the 
rock.  It  was  a  Jiodus, 
or  rocky  knot, among 
the  Avisca  Andes,  of 
the  sort  that  elicits 
from  the  wiseacres 
of  those  regions  the 
opinion  that  the  veins 
of  the  rock  are  "tied 
up."  This  nodus 
was  funnel-shaped, 
eight  miles  across, 
and  seemed  to  be  a 
dry  crater  emerging 
from  the  snow. 
Peaks  of  trachite, 
rough  and  jagged, 
stood  up  like  black- 
ened fangs  out  of  the  unsullied  white, 
forming  a  most  pecuhar  and  impressive 
effect.  Here  too,  out  of  the  mouth  of  a 
beautiful  crystal  lake  among  the  peaks, 
the  party  watched  the  issue  of  the  river 
Paucartampu,  an  affluent,  as  they  sup- 
posed, of  the  Ucayali,  but,  as  the  Eng- 
lish traveler  Markham  asserts,  of  the 
Madre  de  Dio — at  any  rate,  one  of  the 
streams  whose  easterly-flowing  courses 
prove  to  the  traveler  that  he  has  crossed 
the  watershed  of  the  Andes,  parted  com- 
pany with  the  rivers  flowing  to  the  west- 
ern coast,  and  begun  to  trace  the  mean- 
ders of  the  feeders  of  the  Amazon. 

The  Andes  were  now  behind  them, 
and  the  landscape  closed  around  them 


to  the  north,  the  south  and  the  west. 
Only  the  east  lay  open  to  their  steps, 
and  retained,  as  the  day  closed,  a  re- 
flection of  sunset  at  the  rim  of  the  sky. 
Pushing  forward  their  weary  beasts,  the 
travelers  made  for  their  next  stopping- 
place,  Marcapata.      The  rills  from  the 


"  '  IT    IS    MY   AMA    DE   LLAVES  ' 
PRIEST."— 


(housekeeper) 
•p.  14. 


SAID    THE 


summits  began  to  gather  volume  and 
form  considerable  streams :  the  lichens 
of  the  snowy  uplands  were  exchanged 
for  bushes  and  trees.  There  was  a  twi- 
light vision  of  roofs  and  walls  enclosed 
in  the  green  of  orchards  and  farms : 
then  the  night  shut  down  as  in  an  instant, 
and  the  valley  filled  up  with  fog.  Fo  • 
a  short  time  the  footsteps  of  the  beasts 
broke  through  the  sheet  of  mist  and  the 
veil  of  silence,  and  then  the  cry  of  one 
of  the  muleteers  was  heard.  The  troop 
halted  :  a  few  straggling  lights  were  seen 
and  a  huddled  group  of  thatched  roofs. 
The  party  were  at  Marcapata,  the  key 
of  the  valleys  to  the  east,  the  point  where 
they  proposed  to  give  up  their  horses  and 


14 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


hire  porters  for  the  carriage  of  their  pro- 
visions into  the  wilderness — the  end,  in 
fact,  of  their  connection  with  the  civil- 
ization of  the  coast.  Here  too,  their 
patron  and  inspiring  genius,  the  splen- 
did Don  Juan  Sanz  de  Santo  Domingo, 
intended  to  bid  them  adieu. 

Although  the  mules  and  horses  made 
sufficient  jingle  as  the  cavalcade  entered 
the  village,  no  one  seemed  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  intrusion.  The  muleteers 
therefore  began  to  lift  up  their  voices  of 
Stentor,  and  call  upon  the  people  whose 
names  they  knew,  at  the  same  time 
striking  with  their  wooden  stirrups  the 
doors  past  which  they  rode.  At  this 
racket  a  door  opened,  and  an  individ- 
ual, candle  in  hand,  appeared.  This 
man,  barefoot  and  ragged,  was  the  go- 
bernador  of  Marcapata.  He  came  up 
and  asked  if  these  might  be  the  honor- 
able travelers  who  were  expected  at  his 
humble  village.  Reassured  on  this  point, 
he  offered  to  guide  the  party  at  once  to 
the  house  of  the  priest,  who  he  assured 
them  was  much  more  commodiously 
lodged  than  himself.  The  intention  was 
evident,  but  Don  Juan,  with  cruel  prompt- 
ness, relieved  him  of  his  inhospitable 
illusion.  From  the  height  of  his  saddle 
he  read  aloud  the  order  of  the  prefect  of 
Cuzco,  written  on  paper  stamped  with 
the  Peruvian  arms,  enjoining  on  him  the 
care  of  the  travelers  and  their  beasts, 
and  the  performance  of  every  duty  that 
might  further  their  object. 

The  governor,  quite  crushed,  humbly 
opened  the  door  of  his  hut.  The  interior 
had  the  effect  of  completely  relieving 
the  travelers  of  all  desire  for  the  hos- 
pitality they  had  so  frankly  invoked. 
An  unfurnished  hole,  riddled  for  the  ad- 
mission of  the  winds,  and  containing  for 
furniture  a  heap  of  dirty  sheepskins,  was 
.ill  the  poor  governor  could  offer  them. 
The  visitors  hastily  asked  to  be  guided 
to  the  priest. 

This  ecclesiastic  inhabited  a  small 
house  connected  with  the  church.  A 
discreet  knock  at  the  door  was  hazarded, 
which  had  two  responses — the  whine  of 
a  woman  and  the  bark  of  a  dog.  The 
former  asked  with  much  bitterness  who 
was  there  at  that  hour  of  the  night.     The 


hour  was  hardly  seven.  The  governor 
himself  undertook  to  respond. 

At  the  familiar  voice  the  door  was 
half  opened,  and  a  female  head  appear- 
ed :  "  Holy  Virgin  !  What  are  all  those 
men  here  for  ?" 

The  inhospitality  of  this  demand,  set 
down  to  the  account  of  feminine  bash- 
fulness,  was  readily  excused,  and  the 
governor,  resting  outside,  sent  the  trav- 
elers in  to  find  the  priest.  That  worthy 
man,  who  was  supping  with  two  or  three 
cats  by  his  side,  executed  a  sort  of  som- 
ersault, and  received  the  self-introduction 
of  Don  Juan  with  his  mouth  half  open 
and  half  full.  The  merchant  explained 
the  desire  of  the  party  for  shelter,  board 
and  beds. 

The  round  visage  of  the  pastor  cloud- 
ed over.  "  I  am  poor,  and  very  slender- 
ly lodged  here,"  was  all  the  unhappy 
man  could  say.  Santo  Domingo  had  in 
reserve,  however,  for  the  spiritual  power 
an  argument  as  powerful  as  that  which 
had  just  so  effectually  tamed  the  tem- 
poral. "Your  poverty  afflicts  me  very 
much,  my  father,"  said  he  to  the  priest, 
"but  it  will  be  a  far  greater  sorrow  to  his 
grace  the  bishop  of  Cuzco,  who  has  sent 
me  to  your  address  with  the  notion  that 
you  might  be  able  to  serve  me." 

"What!"  cried  the  holy  man,  "our 
illustrious  bishop  has  deigned  to  talk  to 
you  about  me  ? — me,  who  never  saw  him 
in  my  life !" 

The  priest  was  assured  that  he  was 
well  known  to  his  glorious  superior,  and 
that  his  amiable  hospitality  would  be 
taken  by  the  latter  as  a  favor  to  himself. 
On  this  the  poor  man  of  prayer  insisted 
that  the  whole  party  should  enter  and 
sup  with  him.  "  Pescua  !  Pescua!"  cried 
he.  "It  is  my  ama  de  Haves"  (house- 
keeper), said  the  priest.  The  woman, 
frowning,  entered  for  her  instructions. 

In  short,  the  party,  by  adroit  manip- 
ulation of  the  governor  and  the  padre, 
were  able  to  lodge  with  sufficient  com- 
fort. Half  the  gentlemen  quartered 
themselves  upon  the  Church,  half  upon 
the  State,  and  the  mozos  and  muleteers 
were  distributed  through  the  village. 

To  this  holy  father  the  explorer  ap- 
plied  for   aid   in   engaging  the  Indian^ 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


porters  who  were  to  take  the  place  of  [  inspired  by  a  maxim  admirable  for  its 
their  beasts  of  burden.  The  relations  breadth  and  laconism.  "  Do  no  harm 
of  the  good  man  with  the  aborigines  j  to  the  Indian,"  said  the  curator  of  souls 
were  of  a  peaceful  character,  and  were  \  — "God's  law  forbids  it — but  take  care 


"  IMMEDIATELY  BEGAN  THE  INSPECTION  OF  THE  RECRUITS  AT  THE  CHURCH  DOOR." — P.   I  J. 


to  do  him  no  good,  for  he  is  a  brute  that 
is  not  worth  the  trouble."  Under  the 
influence  of  this  moderate  alliance  the 
Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  to 
the  church  at  service-time,  not  for  wor- 


ship, but  from  curiosity  and  in  the  hope 
of  occasional  employment. 

The  day  after  the  arrival  the  priest 
was  notified  by  Santo  Domingo  that  he 
rould  render  a  service  by  engaging  the 


i6 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


Indians   to   remain   after  the   mass :    it 


tended  the  church,  and  were  surprised 


happened  to  be  Sunday.     The  party  at-      to  hear,  during  an  interval  of  the  ob- 


servances,  an  address  from  the  priest  to 
the  Indians,  who  were  squatting  rather 
than  kneeling  in  the  nave.    He  described 


the  project  of  the  strangers  for  an  ex- 
ploration of  the  valley,  intimated  tne 
duty  which  was  expected  of  the  natives, 


SEARCHING  FOR   THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


n 


and  begged  them  to  remain  in  the  plaza 
after  mass,  instead  of  going  off  to  get 
drunk  and  play  at  skittles.  Mass  over, 
the  Indians,  conformably  to  this  order, 
assembled  in  the  square  and  waited  the 
pleasure  of  the  travelers.  The  priest 
hurried  off  his  sacerdotal  robes,  and 
was  quickly  among  them.  Immediately 
began  the  inspection  of  the  recruits  at 
the  church  door.  Each  individual,  plant- 
ed square  on  both  feet,  broad-shouldered 
and  bulbous  of  chest,  was  introduced  by 
the  sacred  purveyor,  who  mentioned  his 
name,  took  him  up  by  the  chin,  and 
gave  a  list  of  his  physical  and  moral 
qualities.  The  Indian  for  his  part  allow- 
ed himself  to  be  punched,  felt  and  turn- 
ed about  with  a  sort  of  simple  smile, 
rather  proud  than  otherwise  of  this  pub- 
lic recognition  of  his  points.  In  this  way 
the  tale  of  assistants  was  quickly  and 
advantageously  made  up. 

There  was  little  more  to  do  at  Mar- 
capata.  On  the  next  morning,  Don  Juan, 
his  lawyer  and  the  eight  or  nine  others 
who  had  formed  the  escort  sprang  into 
their  saddles  and  set  their  faces  toward 
the  inclement  mountains  for  a  return  to 
Cuzco.  Of  the  party  of  bark-explorers 
there  remained  but  three  individuals. 
These  were  Manuel  Perez,  the  former 


colonel  in  the  Spanish  army,  of  the 
Royal  Alexander  regiment,  a  resident 
of  Cuzco,  who  retained  enough  of  his 
old  habits  of  vagabondage  to  wish  to 
join  the  expedition ;  the  writer  and  artist, 
Mr.  Paul  Marcoy ;  and  the  examinador 
of  barks  from  Bolivia,  who  accompanied 
his  band  of  bark-strippers  or  cascarille- 
ros.  The  remaining  trio,  in  their  lone- 
liness and  desire  for  change  of  scene, 
would  have  departed  immediately,  with 
but  slight  adieux  to  the  governor  and  the 
priest.  But  the  Indian  porters  engaged 
at  Marcapata  exclaimed,  with  one  accord 
and  with  a  strong  sense  of  insult,  that 
they  could  never  leave  without  a  parting 
debauch  with  their  friends.  A  night  of 
unintermitted  chicha  and  a  morning  of 
dismal  reaction  ensued  on  the  part  of 
these  savage  servitors.  At  length,  ex- 
cited by  a  few  buckets  of  water  judicious- 
ly thrown  over  their  heads,  the  Indians, 
with  many  farewells  to  their  wives  and 
comrades,  prepared  to  start.  They  re- 
joined the  chiefs  of  the  party,  who,  their 
spurs  laid  aside  and  their  saddles  ex- 
changed for  a  light  walking  equipment, 
were  impatiently  summoning  their  at- 
tendance. 


:p^\.i^t   SEooitTiD. 


THE  cr)'stal  peaks  of  the  Andes  were 
behind  our  explorers  :  before,  were 
their  eastward- stretching  spurs  and  their 
eastward-falling  rivers.  On  the  moun- 
tain-flanks, as  the  last  landmark  of 
Christian  civilization,  nestled  the  village 
of  Marcapata,  whose  square,  thatched 
belfry  faded  gradually  from  sight,  re- 
minding the  travelers  of  the  ghostly  min- 
istrations of  the  padre  and  the  secular 
protection  of  the  gobernador.  Neither 
priest  nor  edile  would  they  encounter 
until  their  return  to  the  same  church- 
tower.  Their  patron,  Don  Juan  Sanz 
de  Santo  Domingo,  was  already  picking 
his  way  along  the  snowy  defiles  of  the 
mountains  to  attain  again  his  luxurious 
home  in  Cuzco.  Behind  the  adventurers 
lay  companionship  and  society — repre- 
sented by  the  dubious  orgies  of  the 
House  of  Austria — and  the  security  of 
civil  government  —  represented  by  the 
mortal  ennui  of  a  Peruvian  citv.     Before 


them  lay  difficulties  and  perhaps  dan- 
gers, but  also  at  least  variety,  novelty 
and  possible  wealth. 

Colonel  Perez,  Marcoy  and  the  ex- 
aminador retained  their  horses,  and  a 
couple  of  the  mozos  their  mules,  the 
remainder  of  the  beasts  being  kept  at 
livery  in  Marcapata,  and  the  muleteers 
volunteering  to  accompany  the  troupe 
as  far  as  Chile-Chile :  at  this  point  the 
bridle-path  came  to  an  end,  and  the 
gentlemen  would  have  to  dismount,  ac- 
companying thenceforth  their  peons  on 
a  literal  "footing"  of  equality. 

Two  torrents  which  fall  in  perpendic- 
ular cataracts  from  the  mountains,  the 
Kellunu  ("yellow  water")  and  the  Cca- 
chi  ("  salt"),  run  together  at  the  distance 
of  a  league  from  their  place  of  precipita- 
tion. They  enclose  in  their  approach 
the  hill  on  which  Marcapata  is  perched, 
and  they  form  by  their  confluence  the 
considerable  river  which    our  travelers 


i8 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


were  about  to  trace,  and  which  is  called 
by  the  Indians  Cconi  ("warm"),  but  on 


the  Spanish  maps  is  termed  the  river  of 
Marcapata. 


The  first  ford  of  the  Cconi  was  passed  [  steeper  and  steeper,  became  impractica- 
just  outside  the  town,  at  a  point  where  ble,  and  necessitated  a  crossing  to  the 
the   right  bank   of   the   river,   growing  I  left.      The   ford   allowed  the   peons   to 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


19 


stagger  through  at  mid-leg  on  the  un- 
even pavement  afforded  by  the  large 
pebbles  of  the  bed.  At  this  point  the 
valley  of  the  Cconi  was  seen  stretching 
indefinitely  outward  toward  the  east, 
enclosed  in  two  chains  of  conical  peaks : 
their  regular  forms,  running  into  each 
other  at  the  middle  of  their  height, 
clothed  with  interminable  forests  and 
bathed  with  light,  melted  regularly  away 
into  the  perspective.  Indian  huts  buried 
in  gardens  of  the  white  lily  which  had 
seemed  so  beautiful  in  the  chapel  of 
Lauramarca,  hedges  of  aloe  menacing 
the  intruder  with  their  millions  of  steely- 
looking  swords,  slender  bamboos  dain- 
tily rocking  themselves  over  the  water, 
and  enormous  curtains  of  creepers  hang- 
ing from  the  hillsides  and  waving  to  the 
wind  in  vast  breadths  of  green,  were  the 
decorations  of  this  Peruvian  paradise. 

The  pretty  lilies  gradually  disappear- 
ed, and  the  thatched  cabins  became 
more  and  more  sparse,  when  from  one 
of  the  latter,  at  a  hundred  paces  from 
the  caravan,  issued  a  human  figure. 
The  man  struck  an  attitude  in  the  path- 
way of  the  travelers,  his  carbine  on  his 
shoulder,  his  fist  on  his  hip  and  his  nose 
saucily  turned  up  in  the  air.  Neither 
his  Metamora-like  posture  nor  his  dress 
inspired  confidence. 

"  He  is  evidently  waiting  for  us,"  re- 
marked Colonel  Perez,  an  heroic  yet  pru- 
dent personage  :  "fortunately,  it  is  broad 
day.  I  would  not  grant  an  interview  to 
such  a  salteador  (brigand)  alone  at  night 
and  in  a  desert." 

The  salteador  wore  a  low  broad  felt, 
on  whose  ample  brim  the  rain  and  sun 
had  sketched  a  variety  of  vague  designs. 
A  gray  sack  buttoned  to  the  throat  and 
confined  by  a  leathern  belt,  and  trowsers 
of  the  same  stuffed  into  his  long  coarse 
woolen  stockings,  completed  his  cos- 
tume. He  was  shod,  like  an  Indian,  in 
ojotas,  or  sandals  cut  out  of  raw  leather 
and  laced  to  his  legs  with  thongs.  Two 
ox-horns  hanging  at  his  side  contained 
his  ammunition,  and  a  light  haversack 
was  slung  over  his  back.  This  mozo, 
who  at  a  distance  would  have  passed  for 
a  man  of  forty,  appeared  on  examina- 
tion to  be  under  twenty-two  years  of  age. 


It  was  likewise  observable  on  a  nearer 
view  that  his  skin  was  brown  and  clea-r 
like  a  chestnut,  and  that  his  lively  eye, 
perfect  teeth  and  air  of  decision  were 
calculated  to  please  an  Indian  girl  of  his 
vicinity.  To  complete  his  rehabilitation 
in  the  eyes  of  the  party,  his  introductory 
address  was  delivered  with  the  grace  of 
a  Spanish  cavalier. 

"The  gentlemen,"  said  he,  gracefully 
getting  rid  of  his  superabundant  hat, 
"will  voluntarily  excuse  me  for  having 
waited  so  long  with  my  respects  and 
offers  of  service.  I  should  have  gone  to 
meet  them  at  Marcapata,  but  my  uncle 
the  gobernador  forbade  me  to  do  so  for 
fear  of  displeasing  the  priest.  Gentle- 
men, I  am  Juan  the  nephew  of  Aragon. 
It  is  by  the  advice  of  my  uncle  that  I 
have  come  to  place  myself  in  your  way, 
and  ask  if  you  will  admit  me  to  youi 
company  as  mozo-assistant  and  inter- 
preter." 

The  colonel,  whose  antipathy  to  the 
salteador  did  not  yield  on  a  closer  ac- 
quaintance, roughly  asked  the  youth 
what  he  meant  by  his  assurance.  Mr, 
Marcoy,  however,  was  disposed  to  tem- 
porize. 

"  If  you  are  Juan  the  nephew  of  Ara- 
gon," said  he,  "you  must  have  already 
learned  from  your  uncle  that  we  have 
engaged  an  interpreter,  Pepe  Garcia  of 
Chile-Chile." 

"Precisely  what  he  told  me,  senor," 
replied  the  young  man;  "but,  for  my 
part,  I  thought  that  if  one  interpretei 
would  be  useful  to  these  gentlemen  on 
their  journey,  two  interpreters  would  be 
a  good  deal  better,  on  account  of  the 
fact  that  we  walk  better  with  two  legs 
than  with  one  :  that  is  the  reason  I  have 
intercepted  you,  gentlemen." 

This  opinion  made  everybody  laugh, 
and  as  Juan  considered  it  his  privilege 
to  laugh  five  times  louder  than  any  one, 
a  quasi  engagement  resulted  from  this 
sudden  harmony  of  temper.  Colons 
Perez  shrugged  his  shoulders :  Marcoy 
as  literary  man,  took  down  the  name  of 
the  new-comer.  The  nephew  of  Aragon 
was  so  delighted  that  he  gave  vent  to  a 
little  cry  of  pleasure,  at  the  same  time 
cutting  a  pirouette.     This  harmless  caper 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


allowed  the  party  to  detect,  tied  to  his 
haversack,  the  local  banjo,  or  c/tnratK^o, 


an  instrument  which  the  Paganinis  of  the 
coiintrv  m  ike  for  themselves  out  of  half 


"GENTLEMEN,   I   AM  JUAN  THE  NEPHEW   OF   ARAGON." — P.  1 9. 

a  calabash  and  the  unfeeling  bowels  of   |  Pepe  Garcia,  had  made  mention  of  that 

the  cat.  j  person's  fine  voice,  with  which  the  church 

The   priest,    who   had   recommended      of  Marcapata  was  edified  every  Sunday. 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


21 


The  gobernador,  while  putting  in  a  word 
for  his  nephew,  and  particularizing  the 
beauty  of  his  execution  on  the  guitar, 
had  insinuated  doubts  of  the  baritone 
favored  by  the  padre.  Happy  land, 
whose  disputes  are  like  the  disputes  of 
an  opera  company,  and  where  people 
are  recommended  for  business  on  the 
strength  of  their  musical  execution  ! 

Aragon  quickly  understood  that  his 
friend  in  the  expedition  was  not  Colonel 
Perez,  who  had  insultingly  dubbed  him 
the  Second  Fiddle  (or  Charango).  He 
attached  himself  therefore  with  the  fidel- 
ity of  a  spaniel  to  Mr.  Marcoy,  walking 
alongside  and  resting  his  arm  on  the 
pommel  of  his  saddle.  After  an  hour's 
traverse  of  a  comparatively  desert  pla- 
teau called  the  Pedregal,  covered  with 
rocks  and  smelling  of  the  patchouli- 
scented  flowers  of  the  mimosa,  Aragon 
pointed  out  the  straw  sheds  and  grassy 
plaza  of  Chile-Chile.  This  rustic  me- 
tropolis is  not  indicated  on  many  maps, 
but  for  the  travelers  it  had  a  special  im- 
portance, bearing  upon  the  inca  history 
and  etymological  roots  of  Peru,  for  it  was 
the  residence  of  their  interpreter-in-chief, 
Pepe  Garcia. 

Introduced  by  the  latter,  our  explorers 
made  a  kind  of  triumphal  entry  into  the 
village.  The  old  Indian  women  dropped 
their  spinning,  the  naked  children  ceased 
to  play  with  the  pigs  and  began  to  play 
with  the  garments  and  equipage  of  the 
visitors,  and  a  couple  of  blind  men,  who 
were  leading  each  other,  remarked  that 
they  were  glad  to  see  them. 

Garcia  the  polyglot,  radiant  with  im- 
portance, lost  no  time  in  dragging  his 
guests  toward  his  own  residence,  a  large 
straw  thatch  surmounting  walls  of  open- 
work, which  took  the  fancy  of  the  trav- 
elers from  the  singular  trophy  attached 
above  the  door.  This  trophy  was  com- 
posed of  the  heads  of  bucks  and  rams, 
with  those  of  the  fox  and  the  ounce, 
where  the  shrunken  skin  displayed  the 
pointed  sierra  of  the  teeth,  while  the 
horns  of  oxen  and  goats,  set  end  to  end 
around  the  borders,  formed  dark  and 
rigid  festoons :  all  vacancies  were  filled 
up  with  the  forms  of  bats,  spread-eagled 
and  nailed  fast,  frrm  the  smallest  varietv 


to  the  large,  man-attacking  vespertilio. 
As  a  contrast  to  this  exterior  decoration, 
the  inside  was  severely  simple :  it  was 
even  a  little  bare.  A  partition  of  bam- 
boo divided  the  hut  into  kitchen  and 
bed-room,  and  that  was  all.  Into  the 
latter  of  these  apartments  Pepe  Garcia 
dragged  the  saddles  of  his  guests,  and 
in  the  former  his  two  twin-daughters, 
melancholy  little  half-breeds  in  ragged 
petticoats,  assisted  their  father  to  prepare 
for  the  wanderers  a  hunter's  supper. 

Every  moment,  in  a  dark  corner  or 
behind  the  backs  of  the  company,  Gar- 
cia was  observed  caressing  these  little 
girls  in  secret.  Being  rallied  on  his  ten- 
derness, he  observed  that  the  twins  were 
the  double  pledge  of  a  union  "longer 
happy  than  was  usual,"  and  the  only 
survivors  of  fifteen  darlings  whom  he 
had  given  to  the  world  in  the  various 
countries  whither  his  wandering  fortunes 
had  led  him.  Still  explaining  and  mul- 
tiplying his  caresses,  the  man  of  family 
went  on  with  his  exertions  as  cook,  and 
in  due  time  announced  the  meal. 

This  festival  consisted  of  sweet  pota- 
toes baked  in  the  ashes,  and  steaks  of  bear 
broiled  over  the  coals.  The  latter  viand 
was  repulsed  with  horror  by  the  colonel, 
who  in  the  effeminacy  of  a  city  life  at 
Cuzco  had  never  tasted  anything  more 
outlandish  than  monkey.  Seeing  his 
companions  eating  without  scruple,  how- 
ever, the  valiant  warrior  extended  his 
tin  plate  with  a  silent  gesture  of  applica- 
tion. The  first  mouthful  appeared  hard 
to  swallow,  but  at  the  second,  looking 
round  at  his  fellow-travelers  with  sur- 
prise and  joy,  he  gave  up  his  prejudices, 
and  marked  off  the  remainder  of  his 
steak  with  wonderful  swiftness.  Stand- 
ing behind  his  boarders,  Pepe  Garcia 
had  been  watching  the  play  of  jaws  and 
expressions  of  face  with  some  uneasi- 
ness, but  when  the  colonel  gave  in  hi? 
adhesion  his  doubts  were  removed,  and 
he  smiled  agreeably,  flattered  in  his 
double  quality  of  hunter  and  cook. 

The  beds  of  the  gentlemen-travelers 
were  spread  side  by  side  in  the  adjoin- 
ing room,  and  Garcia  gravely  assured 
them  that  they  would  sleep  like  the 
Three  Wise  Men  of  the  East.     Unable 


22 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


to  see   any  personal    analogy 
themselves    and    the    ancient 


between 
Caspar, 


Melchior  and  Balthazar,  the  tired  cava- 
liers turned  in  without  remarking  on  the 


^e--- 


subject.  They  paused  a  moment,  how-  j  and  nature  of  Juan  of  Aragon's  engage- 
ever,  before  taking  up  their  candle,  to  set  ment.  This  explanation,  which  the  close 
forth  to  Garcia  in  full  the  circumstances      quarters  of  the  troop  had  made  impos- 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


sible  during  the  journey,  was  received 
in  excellent  part  by  the  interpreter-in- 
chief. 

"Oh,  I  am  not  at  all  jealous  of  Ara- 
gon,"  said  he,  "and  the  gentlemen  have 
done  very  well  in  taking  him  along. 
He  will  be  of  great  use.  He  is  a  bright, 
capable  mozo,  who  would  walk  twenty 
miles  on  his  hands  to  gain  a  piastre. 
As  an  interpreter,  I  think  he  is  almost 
as  good  as  I  am." 

Having  thus  smoothed  away  all 
grounds  of  rivalry,  the  colonel,  the  ex- 
aminador  and  Marcoy  took  possession 
of  their  sleeping-room.  Here,  long  after 
their  light  was  put  out,  they  watched  the 
scene  going  on  in  the  apartment  they 
had  just  left,  whose  interior,  illuminated 
by  a  candle  and  a  lingering  fire,  was 
perfectly  visible  through  the  partition  of 
bamboo.  The  dark-skinned  girls,  on 
their  knees  in  a  corner,  were  gathering 
together  the  shirts  and  stockings  destined 
for  the  parental  traveling-bag.  Garcia, 
for  his  part,  was  occupied  in  cleaning 
with  a  bit  of  rag  a  portentous,  long-bar- 
reled carbine,  apparently  dating  back  to 
the  time  of  Pizarro,  which  he  had  been 
exhibiting  during  the  day  as  his  hunt- 
ing rifle,  and  which  he  intended  to  carry 
along  with  him. 

The  sleep  under  the  thatched  roof  of 
Pepe  Garcia,  though  somewhat  less 
sound  than  that  of  the  Three  Magi  in 
their  tomb  at  Cologne,  lasted  until  a  ray 
of  the  morning  sun  had  penetrated  the 
open-work  walls  of  the  hut.  The  colonel 
rapidly  dressed  himself,  and  aroused  the 
others.  A  disquieting  silence  reigned 
around  the  modest  mansions  of  Chile- 
Chile.  The  interpreter  was  away,  Juan 
of  Aragon  was  away,  the  muleteers  had 
returned,  according  to  instructions  re- 
ceived over-night,  to  Marcapata  with  the 
anima  Is,  and  the  peons  were  found  dead- 
drunk  behind  the  mud  wall  of  the  last 
house  in  the  village. 

After  three  hours  of  impatient  waiting 
there  appeared — not  Garcia  and  Aragon, 
whose  absence  was  inexplicable,  but — 
the  faithful  Bolivian  bark -hunters  in  a 
body.  Not  caring  to  stupefy  themselves 
with  the  peons,  they  had  gone  out  for  a 
reconnoissance  in  the  environs.      Con- 


templating the  nodding  forms  of  their 
comrades,  they  now  let  out  the  dis- 
couraging fact  that  these  tame  Indians, 
madly  afraid  of  their  wild  brothers  the 
Chunchos,  had  been  fortifying  them- 
selves steadily  with  brandy  and  chicha 
all  the  way  from  Marcapata.  Disgusted 
and  helpless,  Perez  and  the  examinador 
betook  themselves  to  reading  tattered 
newspapers  issued  at  Lima  a  month 
before,  and  Marcoy  to  his  note-book. 
Suddenly  a  ferocious  wild-beast  cry  was 
heard  coming  from  the  woods,  and  while 
the  Indian  porters  tried  to  run  away,  and 
the  white  men  looked  at  each  other  with 
apprehension,  Pepe  Garcia  and  Aragon 
appeared  in  the  distance.  Their  arms 
were  interlaced  in  a  brother-like  manner, 
they  were  poising  themselves  with  much 
care  on  their  legs,  and  they  were  drunk. 
Well  had  the  elder  interpreter  said  that 
he  was  not  jealous  of  Aragon.  They 
rolled  forward  toward  the  party,  repeat- 
ing their  outrageous  duet,  whose  recep- 
tion by  the  staring  peons  appeared  to 
gratify  them  immensely. 

The  mozo,  feeling  his  secondary  po- 
sition, had  enervated  himself  shghtly 
— the  superior  was  magisterially  tipsy. 
He  wore  a  remarkable  hat  entirely  with- 
out a  brim,  and  patched  all  over  the  top 
with  a  lid  of  leather.  His  face,  marked 
up  to  the  eyes  with  the  blue  stubble  of 
that  beard  which  filled  him  with  pride 
as  a  sign  of  European  extraction,  was 
swollen  and  hideous  with  drunkenness. 
He  carried,  besides  the  fearful  blunder- 
buss of  the  night  before,  a  belt  full  of 
pistols  and  hatchets.  A  short  infantrj'- 
sword  was  banging  away  at  his  calves, 
and  two  long  ox-horns  rattled  at  his  waist. 
The  interpreters  had  been  partaking  of 
a  little  complimentary  breakfast  with  the 
muleteers  in  whose  care  the  animals  had 
gone  off  to  Marcapata. 

A  concentration  of  energy  on  the  part 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  expedition  was  re- 
quired to  set  in  movement  this  unprom- 
ising assemblage.  The  examinador  un- 
dertook the  peons :  he  rapped  them 
smartly  and  repeatedly  about  the  head 
and  shoulders,  until  they  staggered  to 
their  feet  and  declared  that  they  were  a 
match  for  whole  hordes  of  Indians  :  this 


24 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


courage,  borrowed  from  the  flask,  gave 
strong  assurance  that  at  the  first  alarm 


from  genuine  Chunchos  they  would  take 
to  their  heels.     Mr.  Marcoy,  feeling  un- 


able to  do  justice  to  the  case  of  the 
nephew,  turned  him  over  to  Perez,  whose 
undisguised  dislike  made  the  work  of 


correction  at  once  grateful  and  thorough. 
Marcoy  himself  confronted  the  stolid 
and  sullen  Pepe  Garcia,  insisting  upon 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


the  example  he  owed  to  the  Indian  por- 
ters and  the  responsibility  of  his  Cau- 
casian blood.  The  half-breed  listened 
for  a  minute,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
ground  :  he  then  shook  himself,  looked 
an  instant  at  his  employer,  and  planted 
himself  firmly  on  his  legs.  Then,  de- 
termined to  prove  by  a  supreme  effort 
that  he  was  clear-headed  and  master  of 
his  motions,  he  suddenly  drew  his  sword, 
hustled  the  Indians  in  a  line  by  two  and 
two,  pointed  out  to  Aragon  his  position 
as  rear-guard,  and  cried  with  a  voice 
of  thunder,  "Adeiufife !"  The  porters 
and  peons  staggered  forward,  knocking 
against  each  other's  elbows  and  totter- 
ing on  their  stout  legs.  The  three  white 
men,  burdenless,  but  regretting  their 
horses,  walked  as  they  pleased,  keeping 
the  train  in  sight.  And  John  the  nephew 
of  Aragon's  guitar,  dangling  at  his  back, 
brought  up  the  rear,  with  its  suggestions 
of  harmony  and  the  amenities  of  life. 

The  first  trait  of  aboriginal  character 
(after  this  parenthetical  alacrity  at  drunk- 
enness) was  shown  after  some  hours  of 
marching  and  the  passage  of  a  dozen 
streams.  The  porters,  weakened  by 
their  drink  and  the  extreme  heat,  squat- 
ted down  on  the  side  of  a  hill  by  their 
own  consent  and  with  a  single  impulse. 
With  that  lamb-like  placidity  and  that 
mule-like  obstinacy  which  characterize 
the  antique  race  of  Quechuas,  they  ob- 
served to  the  chief  interpreter  that  they 
were  weary  of  falling  on  their  backs  or 
their  stomachs  at  every  other  step,  and 
that  they  were  resolved  to  go  no  farther. 
Pepe  Garcia  caused  the  remark  to  be 
repeated  once  more,  as  if  he  had  not  un- 
derstood it :  then,  convinced  that  an  in- 
cipient rebellion  was  brewing,  he  sprang 
upon  the  fellow  who  happened  to  be 
nearest,  haled  him  up  from  the  ground 
by  the  ears,  and,  shaking  him  vigorously, 
proceeded  to  do  as  much  for  the  rest  of 
the  band.  In  the  flash  of  an  eye,  much 
to  their  astonishment,  they  found  them- 
selves on  their  feet. 

A  judicious  if  not  very  discriminating 
award  of  blows  from  the  sabre  then  fol- 
lowed, causing  the  Indians  to  change 
their  resolve  of  remaining  in  that  par- 
ticular spot,  and  to  show  a  lively  deter- 


mination to  get  away  from  it  as  quickly 
as  possible.  Each  porter,  forgetting  his 
fatigue,  and  seeming  never  to  have  felt 
any,  began  to  trot  along,  no  longer  lan- 
guidly as  before,  but  with  a  precision  of 
step  and  a  firmness  in  his  round  calves 
which  surprised  and  charmed  the  trav- 
elers. Pepe  Garcia,  much  refreshed  by 
this  exercise  of  discipline,  and  perspiring 
away  his  intoxication  as  he  marched, 
began  to  give  grounds  for  confidence 
from  his  steady  and  authoritative  man- 
ner. By  nightfall  the  whole  troop  was 
in  harmony,  and  the  strangers  retired 
with  hopeful  hearts  to  the  privacy  of  the 
hammocks  which  Juan  of  Aragon  sluni,^ 
amongst  the  trees  on  the  side  of  Mount 
Morayaca. 

No  effect  could  seem  finer,  to  wander- 
ers from  another  latitude,  than  this  first 
night-bivouac  in  the  absolute  wilderness. 
The  moon,  seeming  to  race  through  the 
clouds,  and  the  camp-fire  flashing  in  the 
wind,  appeared  to  give  movement  and 
animation  to  the  landscape.  The  In- 
dians, grouped  around  the  flame,  seem- 
ed like  swarthy  imps  tending  the  furnace 
of  some  fantastic  pandemonium.  Mean- 
while, amidst  the  constant  murmurs  of 
the  trees,  the  nephew  of  Aragon  was 
heard  drawing  the  notes  of  some  kind 
of  amorous  despair  from  the  hollow  of 
his  melodious  calabash.  The  examina- 
dor  and  Colonel  Perez  lulled  themselves 
to  sleep  with  a  conversation  about  the 
beauties  and  beatitudes  of  their  wives, 
now  playing  the  part  of  Penelopes  in 
their  absence.  To  hear  the  eulogies  of 
the  examinador,  an  angel  fallen  perpen- 
dicularly from  heaven  could  hardly  have 
realized  the  physical  and  moral  qualities 
of  the  spouse  he  had  left  in  Sorata.  The 
Castilian  tongue  lent  wonderful  pomp 
and  magnificence  to  this  portrait,  and  as 
the  metaphors  thickened  and  the  superb 
phrases  lost  themselves  in  hyperbole,  one 
would  have  thought  the  lady  in  question 
was  about  to  fly  back  to  her  native  stars 
on  a  pair  of  resplendent  wings.  Colonel 
Perez  furnished  an  equally  elaborate  de- 
lineation of  his  own  fair  helpmate.  As 
for  the  wife  of  Lorenzo,  nobody  knew 
what  she  was  like,  and  the  panegyric 
from  the  lips  of  her  faithful  lord  rolled 


26 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


on  in  safety  and  success.  But  the  per- 
sonage called  by  Perez  "his  Theresa" 
was  a  female  whom  anybody  who  had 
passed  through  the  small  shopkeeping 
quarters  of  Cuzco  might  have  seen  every 
day,  as  well  as  heard  designated  by  her 
common  nickname  (given  no  one  knows 
why)  of  Malignant  Quinsy  ;  and,  arguing 
in  algebraic  fashion  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown,  it  was  not  difficult  to  be 
convinced  that  the  poetic  flights  of  the 
examinador  were  equally  the  work  of 
fond  flattery. 

Surprised  by  a  midnight  storm,  the 
camp  was  broken  up  before  the  early 
daylight,  and  our  explorers'  caravan 
moved  on  without  breakfast.  This 
necessary  stop-gap  was  arranged  for  at 
the  first  pleasant  spot  on  the  route.  An 
old  clearing  soon  appeared,  provided 
with  the  welcome  accommodation  of  an 
ajoupa,  or  shed  built  upon  four  posts. 
At  the  command  of  Alto  alii! — "Halt 
there  !" — uttered  by  Perez  in  the  tone  he 
had  formerly  used  in  governing  his  troops, 
the  whole  band  stopped  as  one  person  ; 
the  porters  dumped  their  bales  with  a 
significant  ugh  I  the  Bolivian  bark-hunt- 
ers laid  down  their  axes  ;  and  the  gen- 
tlemen arranged  themselves  around  the 
parallelogram  of  the  hut,  attending  the 
commissariat  developments  of  Colonel 
Perez.  The  site  which  hazard  had  so 
conveniently  offered  was  named  Chaupi- 
chaca.  It  was  the  scene  of  an  ancient 
wood-cutting,  around  which  the  trunks 
of  the  antique  forests  showed  themselves 
in  a  warm  soft  light,  like  the  columns  of 
a  temple  or  the  shafts  of  a  mosque. 

A  detail  which  struck  the  travelers  in 
arriving  was  very  characteristic  of  these 
lands,  filled  so  full  of  old  traditions  and 
inca  customs.  Chaupichaca  was  marked 
with  a  square  terminal  pillar,  one  of  those 
boundaries  of  mud  and  stones,  called 
apachecias,  which  Peruvian  masonry 
lavishes  over  the  country  of  Manco 
Capac.  A  rude  cross  of  sticks  sur- 
mounted this  stone  altar,  on  which  some 
pious  hand  had  laid  a  nosegay,  now 
dried — signifying,  in  the  language  of 
flowers  proper  to  masons  and  stone-cut- 
ters, that  the  work  was  finished  and  left. 
.A  little  water  and  spirits  spared  from  the 


travelers'  meal  gave  a  slight  air  of  resto- 
ration to  these  mysterious  offerings,  and 
a  couple  of  splendid  butterflies,  whether 
attracted  by  the  flowers  or  the  alcoholic 
perfume,  commenced  to  waltz  around 
the  bouquet ;  but  the  corollas  contained 
no  honey  for  their  diminutive  trunks, 
and  after  a  slight  examination  they 
danced  contemptuously  away. 

At  seven  or  eight  miles'  distance  an- 
other streamlet  was  reached,  named  the 
Mamabamba.  It  is  a  slender  affluent 
of  the  Cconi,  to  be  called  a  rivulet  in 
any  country  but  South  America,  but  here 
named  a  river  with  the  same  proud  ef- 
frontery which  designates  as  a  city  any 
collection  of  a  dozen  huts  thrown  into 
the  ravine  of  a  mountain.  The  Mama- 
bamba was  crossed  by  an  extemporized 
bridge,  constructed  on  the  spot  by  the  in- 
genuity of  Garcia  and  his  men.  Strange 
and  incalculable  was  the  engineering  of 
Pepe  Garcia.  Sometimes,  across  one  of 
these  continually-occurring  streams,  he 
would  throw  a  hastily- felled  tree,  over 
which,  glazed  as  it  was  by  a  night's  ram 
or  by  the  humidity  of  the  forest,  he  would 
invite  the  travelers  to  pass.  Sometimes, 
to  a  couple  of  logs  rotting  on  the  banks 
he  would  nail  cross-strips  like  the  rungs 
of  a  ladder,  and,  while  the  torrent  boiled 
at  a  distance  below,  pass  jauntily  with 
his  Indians,  more  sure-footed  than  goats. 
The  wider  the  abyss  the  more  insecure 
the  causeway ;  and  the  terrible  rope- 
bridges  of  South  America,  or  the  still 
more  conjectural  throw  of  a  line  of  woven 
roots,  would  meet  the  travelers  wherever 
the  cleft  was  so  wide  as  to  render  timber- 
ing an  inconvenient  trouble.  Occasion- 
ally, on  one  of  these  damp  and  moss- 
grown  ladders,  a  peon's  foot  would  slip, 
and  down  he  would  go,  the  load  strap- 
ped on  his  back  catching  him  as  he  was 
passing  through  the  aperture :  then,  using 
his  hands  to  hold  on  by,  he  would  com- 
pose, on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  a  new 
and  original  language  or  telegraphy  of 
the  lees,  kickitio-  for  assistance  with  all 
his  might.  Juan  of  Aragon  was  usually 
the  hero  to  extricate  these  poor  estrays 
from  the  false  step  they  had  taken,  the 
other  peons  regarding  the  scene  with 
their  tranquil  stolidity.     A  glass  of  bran- 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


dy  to  the  unfortunate  would  always  com- 
pose his  nerves  again,  and  make  him 


hope  for  a  few  more  accidents  of  a  like 
nature  and  bringing  a  like  consolation. 


"THE    MAMABAMBA    WAS    CROSSED    BY   AN    EXTEMPORIZED    BRIDGE." — P.  26. 


The  bridge  of  the  Mamabamba  con- 
ducted the  party  to  a  site  of  the  same 


name,  through  an  interval  of  forest  where 
might  be  counted  most  of  the  varieties 


28 


SEAKCHIXG   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERL. 


of  tree  proper  to  the  equatorial  high- 
lands. Up  to  this  point  the  vegetation 
everywhere  abounding  had  not  indicated 


the 


of 


presence,  or  even  the  vicinage, 
the  cinchona.  The  only  circumstance 
which  brought  it  to  the  notice  of  the 
inexperienced  leaders  of  the  expedition 
would  be  a  halt  made  from  time  to  time 
by  the  Bolivian  bark-hunters.  The  ex- 
aminador  and  his  cascarilleros,  touching 
one  tree  or  another  with  their  hatchets, 
would  exchange  remarks  full  of  mean- 
ing and  mysteriousness ;  but  when  the 
colonel  or  Mr.  Marcoy  came  to  ask  the 
significance  of  so  many  hints  and  signals, 
they  got  the  invariable  answer  of  Sister 
Anna  to  the  wife  of  Bluebeard :  "  I  see 
nothing  but  the  forest  turning  green  and 
the  sun  turning  red."  The  most  prac- 
tical reminder  of  the  quest  of  cinchona 
which  the  travelers  found  was  an  occa- 
sional ajoupa  alone  in  the  wilderness, 
with  a  broken  pot  and  a  rusted  knife  or 
axe  beneath  it — witness  that  some  eager 
searcher  had  traveled  the  road  before 
themselves.  The  cascarilleros  are  very 
avaricious  and  very  brave,  going  out 
alone,  setting  up  a  hut  in  a  probable- 
looking  spot,  and  diverging  from  their 
head-quarters  in  every  direction.  If  by 
any  accident  they  get  lost  or  their  pro- 
visions are  destroyed,  they  die  of  hunger. 
Doctor  Weddell,  on  one  occasion  in  Bo- 
livia, landed  on  the  beach  of  a  river  well 
shaded  with  trees.  Here  he  found  the 
cabin  of  a  cascarillero,  and  near  it  a 
man  stretched  out  upon  the  ground  in 
the  agonies  of  death.  He  was  nearly 
naked,  and  covered  with  myriads  of  in- 
sects, whose  stings  had  hastened  his  end. 
On  the  leaves  which  formed  the  roof  of 
the  hut  were  the  remains  of  the  unfor- 
tunate man's  clothes,  a  straw  hat  and 
some  rags,  with  a  knife,  an  earthen  pot 
containing  the  remains  of  his  last  meal, 
a  little  maize  and  two  or  three  cJiuniis. 
Such  is  the  end  to  which  their  hazardous 
occupation  exposes  the  bark-collectors — 
death  in  the  midst  of  the  forests,  far  from 
home  ;  a  death  without  help  and  without 
consolation. 

It  was  not  until  after  passing  the  ele- 
vated site  of  San  Pedro,  and  clambering 
up  the  slippery  shoulders  of  the  hill  call- 


ed Huaynapata — the  crossing  of  half  a 
dozen  intervening  streamlets  going  for 
nothing — that  the  explorers  were  reward- 
ed with  a  sight  of  their  Canaan,  the  bark- 
producing  region.  To  attain  this  sum- 
mit of  Huaynapata,  however,  the  little 
tributary  of  Mendoza  had  to  be  first  got 
over.  This  affluent  of  the  Cconi,  flow- 
ing in  from  the  south-south-west,  was 
very  sluggish  as  far  as  it  could  be  seen. 
Its  banks,  interrupted  by  large  rocks 
clothed  with  moss,  offered  now  and  then 
promontories  surrounded  at  the  base  with 
a  bluish  shade.  At  the  end  of  the  vista, 
a  not  very  extensive  one,  a  quantity  of 
blocks  of  sandstone  piled  together  re- 
sembled a  crumbling  wall.  Other  blocks 
were  sprinkled  over  the  bed  of  the  stream ; 
and  by  their  aid  the  examinador  and  the 
colonel  hopped  valiantly  over  the  Men- 
doza,  leaving  the  peons,  who  were  less 
afraid  of  rheumatism  and  more  in  danger 
of  slipping,  to  ford  the  current  at  the 
depth  of  their  suspender-buttons. 

It  was  on  the  top  of  Huaynapata, 
while  the  interpreters  built  a  fire  and 
prepared  for  supper  a  peccary  killed 
upon  the  road,  that  Marcoy  observed 
the  examinador  holding  with  his  Boliv- 
ians a  conversation  in  the  Aymara  dia- 
lect, in  which  could  be  detected  such 
words  as  ajiaratijada  and  viorada. 
These  were  the  well-known  commercial 
names  of  two  species  of  cinchona.  The 
historiographer  interrupted  their  conver- 
sation to  ask  if  anything  had  yet  been 
discovered. 

"Nothing  yet,"  replied  the  examina- 
dor; "and  this  valley  of  the  Cconi  must 
be  bewitched,  for  with  the  course  that 
we  have  taken  we  should  long  ago  have 
discovered  what  we  are  after.  But  this 
place  looks  more  favorable  than  any  we 
have  met.  I  shall  beat  up  the  woods 
to-morrow  -with  my  men,  and  may  my 
patron.  Saint  Lorenzo,  return  again  to 
his  gridiron  if  we  do  not  date  our  first 
success  in  quinine-hunting  from  this  very 
hillock  of  Huaynapata !" 

The  above  style  of  threatening  the 
saints  is  thought  very  efficacious  in  all 
Spanish  countries.  Whether  or  no  Saint 
Lawrence  really  dreaded  another  expe- 
rience of  broiling,  at  the  end  of  certain 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


29 


hours   the    Bohvians    reappeared,    and  [  colonel  a  few  green  and  tender  branches, 
their  chief  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  I  At  the  joyful  shout  of  Perez,  the  man  of 


letters,  who  had  been  occupied  in  mak- 
ing a  sketch,  came  running  up.  Two 
different  species   of  cinchona  were  the 


trophy  brought  back  by  Lorenzo,  like 
the  olive-leaves  in  the  beak  of  Noah's 
dove.     One  of  these   specimens  was  a 


30 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


variety  oi  the  Carua-carua,  with  large 
leaves  heavily  veined  :  the  other  was  an 
individual  resembling  those  quinquinas 
which  the  botanists  Ruiz  andPavon  have 
discriminated  from  the  cinchonas,  to 
make  a  separate  family  called  the  Quin- 
quina cosmibuetia.  After  all,  the  dis- 
covery was  rather  an  indication  than  a 
conquest  of  value.  The  examinador 
admitted  as  much,  but  observ^ed  that  the 
presence  of  these  baser  species  always 
argued  the  neighborhood  of  genuine 
quinine-yielding  plants  near  by. 

In  the  presence  of  this  first  success  on 
the  part  of  the  exploration  set  on  foot 
by  Don  Juan  Sanz  de  Santo  Domingo, 
we  may  insert  a  few  words  on  the  nature 
of  the  wonderful  plant  toward  which  its 
researches  were  directed. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  Peru,  Bolivia  and  Ecua- 
dor were  acquainted  with  the  virtues  of 
the  cinchona  plant  as  a  febrifuge.  It 
seeems  probable,  nevertheless,  that  the 
Indians  of  Loxa,  two  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  south  of  Peru,  were  aware  of  the 
qualities  of  the  bark,  for  there  its  use 
was  first  made  known  to  Europeans.  It 
was  forty  years  after  the  pacification  of 
Peru  however,  before  any  communica- 
tion of  the  remedial  secret  was  made  to 
the  Spaniards.  Joseph  de  Jussieu  reports 
that  in  1600  a  Jesuit,  who  had  a  fever 
at  Malacotas,  was  cured  by  Peruvian 
bark.  In  1638  the  countess  Ana  of 
Chinchon  was  suffering  from  tertian 
fever  and  ague  at  Lima,  whither  she  had 
accompanied  the  viceroy,  her  husband. 
The  corregidor  of  Loxa,  Don  Juan  Lo- 
pez de  Canizares,  sent  a  parcel  of  pow- 
dered quinquina  bark  to  her  physician, 
Juan  de  Vega,  assuring  him  that  it  was 
a  sovereign  and  infallible  remedy  for 
"tertiana."  It  was  administered  to  the 
countess,  who  was  sixty-two  years  of 
age,  and  effected  a  complete  cure.  This 
countess,  returning  with  her  husband  to 
Spain  in  1640,  brought  with  her  a  quan- 
tity of  the  healing  bark.  Hence  it  was 
sometimes  called  "countess's  bark"  and 
"countess's  powder."  Her  famous  cure 
induced  Linnaeus,  long  after,  to  name 
the  whole  genus  of  quinine-bearing  trees, 
in   her   honor,   Cinchona.     By  modern 


writers  the  first  h  has  usually  been  drop- 
ped, and  the  word  is  now  almost  inva- 
riably spelled  in  that  way,  instead  of 
the  more  etymological  Chinchona.  The 
Jesuits  afterward  made  great  and  effect- 
ive use  of  it  in  their  missionary  expe- 
ditions, and  it  was  a  ludicrous  result  of 
their  patronage  that  its  use  should  have 
been  for  a  long  time  opposed  by  Protest- 
ants and  favored  by  Catholics.  In  1679, 
Louis  XIV.  bought  the  secret  of  pre- 
paring quinquina  from  Sir  Robert  Tal- 
bor,  an  English  doctor,  for  two  thousand 
louis-d'or,  a  large  pension  and  a  title. 
Under  the  Grand  Monarch  it  was  used 
at  dessert,  mingled  with  Spanish  wine. 
The  delay  of  its  discovery  until  the  sev- 
enteenth century  has  probably  lost  to 
the  world  numbers  of  valuable  lives. 
Had  Alexander  the  Great,  who  died  of 
the  common  remittent  fever  of  Babylon, 
been  acquainted  with  cinchona  bark,  his 
death  would  have  been  averted  and  the 
partition  of  the  Macedonian  empire  in- 
definitely postponed.  Oliver  Cromwell 
was  carried  off  by  an  ague,  which  the 
administration  of  quinine  would  easily 
have  cured.  The  bigotry  of  medical  sci- 
ence, even  after  its  efficarcy  was  known 
and  proved,  for  a  long  time  retarded  its 
dissemination.  In  1726,  La  Fontaine, 
at  the  instance  of  a  lady  who  owed  her 
life  to  it,  the  countess  of  Bouillon,  com- 
posed a  poem  in  two  cantos  to  celebrate 
its  virtues ;  but  the  remarkable  beauty 
of  the  leaves  of  the  cinchona  and  the 
delicious  fragrance  of  its  flowers,  with 
allusions  to  which  he  might  have  adorn- 
ed his  verses,  were  still  unknown  in 
Europe. 

The  cinchonas  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances become  large  trees  :  at  pres- 
ent, however,  in  any  of  the  explored 
and  exploited  regions  of  their  growth, 
the  shoots  or  suckers  of  the  plants  are 
all  that  remain.  Wherever  they  abound 
they  form  the  handsomest  foliage  of  the 
forest.  The  leaves  are  lanceolate,  glossy 
and  vividly  green,  traversed  by  rich 
crimson  veins  :  the  flowers  hang  in  clus- 
tering pellicles,  like  lilacs,  of  deep  rose- 
color,  and  fill  the  vicinity  with  rich  per- 
fume. Nineteen  varieties  of  cinchonae 
have  been  established  by  Doctor  Wed- 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


31 


dell.  The  cascarilleros  of  South  Amer- 
ica divide  the  species  into  a  category  of 
colors,  according  to  the  tinge  of  the  bark : 
there  are  yellow,  red,  orange,  violet,  gray 
and  white  cinchonas.  The  yellow,  among 
which  figure  the  Cinchona  calisaya,  lan- 
cifolia,  cofidaniinea,  micra7itha,  pubes- 
cens,  etc.,  are  placed  in  the  first  rank : 
the  red,  orange  and  gray  are  less  esteem- 
ed. This  arrangement  is  in  proportion 
to  the  abundance  of  the  alkaloid  qtibmie, 
now  used  in  medicine  instead  of  the  bark 
itself. 

The  specimens  found  by  the  examina- 
dor  were  carefully  wrapped  in  blankets, 
and  the  march  was  resumed.  After  a 
slippery  descent  of  the  side  of  Huayna- 
pata  and  the  passage  of  a  considerable 
number  of  babbling  streams — each  of 
which  gave  new  occasion  for  the  colonel 
to  show  his  ingenuity  in  getting  over 
dryshod,  and  so  sparing  his  threatening 
rheumatism — the  cry  of  "Sausipata!" 
was  uttered  by  Pepe  Garcia.  Two  neat 
mud  cabins,  each  provided  with  a  door 
furnished  with  the  unusual  luxury  of  a 
wooden  latch,  marked  the  plantation  of 
Sausipata.  The  situation  was  level,  and 
within  the  enclosing  walls  of  the  forest 
could  be  seen  a  plantation  of  bananas, 
a  field  of  sugar-cane,  with  groves  of 
coffee,  orange-orchards  and  gardens  of 
sweet  potato  and  pineapple.  The  white 
visitors  could  not  refrain  from  an  excla- 
mation of  surprise  at  the  neatness  and 
civiUzation  of  such  an  Eden  in  the 
desert.  At  this  point,  Juan  of  Aragon, 
who  had  been  going  on  ahead,  turned 
around  with  an  air  of  splendid  welcome, 
and  explained  that  the  farm  belonged  to 
his  uncle,  the  gobernador  of  Marcapata, 
who  prayed  them  to  make  themselves  at 
home.  Introducing  his  guests  into  the 
largest  of  the  houses,  Juan  presented 
them  with  some  fine  ripe  fruit  which  he 
culled  from  the  garden.  Colonel  Perez, 
who  never  lost  occasion  to  give  a  sly 
stab  to  the  mozo,  asked,  as  he  peeled  a 
banana,  if  he  was  duly  authorized  to 
dispose  so  readily  of  the  property  of  his 
uncle  :  the  youth,  without  losing  a  par- 
ticle of  his  magnificent  adolescent  court- 
esy, replied  that  as  nephew  and  direct 
heir  of  the  governor  of  Marcapata  it  was 


a  right  which  he  exercised  in  anticipation 
of  inheritance;  and  that  just  as  Pepe 
Garcia,  the  interpreter-in-chief,  had  re- 
galed the  party  in  his  residence,  he,  Juan 
of  Aragon,  proposed  to  do  in  the  family 
grange  of  Sausipata. 

Meantime,  the  examinador,  who  had 
pushed  forward  with  his  men,  returned 
with  a  couple  more  specimens  of  quin- 
quina, which  they  had  discovered  close 
by  in  clambering  amongst  the  forest. 
Neither  had  flowers,  but  the  one  was 
recognizable  by  its  flat  leaf  as  the  species 
called  by  the  Indians  ichti-cascarilla, 
from  the  grain  ichii  amongst  which  it  is 
usually  found  at  the  base  of  the  Cordil- 
leras ;  and  the  other,  from  its  fruit-cap- 
sules two  inches  in  length,  as  the  Cin- 
chona acutifolia  of  Ruiz  and  Pavon. 
To  moderate  the  pleasures  of  this  dis- 
covery, the  examinador  came  up  lean- 
ing upon  the  shoulder  of  his  principal 
assistant,  Eusebio,  complaining  of  a 
frightful  headache,  and  a  weakness  so 
extreme  that  he  could  not  put  one  foot 
before  the  other. 

The  sudden  illness  of  their  botanist- 
in-chief  cast  a  gloom  upon  tLe  party,  and 
utterly  spoiled  the  festive  intentions  of 
young  Aragon.  Lorenzo  was  put  to  bed, 
from  which  retreat,  at  midnight,  his  fear- 
ful groans  summoned  the  colonel  to  his 
side.  The  latter  found  him  tossing  and 
murmuring,  but  incapable  of  uttering  a 
word.  His  faithful  Eusebio,  at  the  head 
of  the  bed,  answered  for  him.  The 
honest  fellow  feared  lest  his  master  might 
have  caught  again  a  touch  of  the  old 
fever  which  had  formerly  attacked  him 
in  searching  for  cascarillas  in  the  en- 
virons of  Tipoani  in  Bolivia.  These 
symptoms,  recurring  in  the  lower  valleys 
of  the  Cconi,  would  make  it  impossible 
for  the  brave  explorer  safely  to  continue 
with  the  party.  As  the  mestizo  pro- 
pounded this  inconvenient  theory,  a  new 
burst  of  groans  from  the  examinador 
seemed  to  confirm  it.  The  grave  news 
brought  all  the  party  to  the  sick  bed. 
Colonel  Perez,  whom  the  touching  com- 
parison of  wives  made  in  the  hammocks 
of  Morayaca  had  sensibly  attached  to 
Lorenzo,  endeavored  to  feel  his  pulse ; 
but  the  patient,  drawing  in  his  hand  by 


32 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


a  peevish  movement,  only  rolled  himself 
more  tightly  in  his  blanket,  and  increased 
his  groans  to  roars.  Presently,  exhaust- 
ed by  so  much  agony,  he  fell  into  a 
slumber. 

In  the  morning  the  examinador,  in  a 
dolorous  voice,  announced  that  he  should 
be  obliged  to  return  to  Cuzco.  This 
resolution  might  have  seemed  the  ob- 
stinate delirium  of  the  fever  but  for  the 
mournful  and  pathetic  calmness  of  the 
victim.  Eusebio,  he  said,  should  return 
with  him  as  far  as  Chile-Chile,  where  a 
conveyance  could  be  had  ;  and  he  him- 
self would  give  such  explicit  instructions 
to  the  cascarilleros  that  nothing  would 
be  lost  by  his  absence  to  the  purposes 
of  the  expedition.  Yielding  to  pity  and 
friendship,  the  colonel  gave  in  his  ad- 
hesion to  the  plan,  and  even  proposed 
his  own  hammock  as  a  sort  of  palanquin, 
and  the  loan  of  a  pair  of  the  peons  for 
bearers.  They  could  return  with  Euse- 
bio to  Sausipata,  where  the  party  would 
be  obliged  to  wait  for  the  three.  After 
sketching  out  his  plan,  Colonel  Perez 
looked  for  approval  to  Mr.  Marcoy,  and 
received  an  affirmative  nod.  The  prop- 
osition seemed  so  agreeable  to  the  sick 
man  that  already  an  alleviation  of  his 
misery  appeared  to  be  superinduced. 
He  even  smiled  intelligently  as  he  rolled 
into  the  hammock.  In  a  very  short  time 
he  made  a  sort  of  theatrical  exit,  borne 
in  the  hammock  like  an  invalid  princess, 
and  fanned  with  a  palm  branch  out  of 
the  garden  by  the  faithful  Eusebio. 

"  Poor  devil !"  said  Perez  as  the  mourn- 
ful procession  departed  :  "who  knows  if 
he  will  ever  see  his  dear  wife  at  Sorata, 
or  if  he  will  even  live  to  reach  Chile- 
Chile?" 

"  Do  you  really  think  him  in  any  such 
danger?"  asked  the  more  suspicious 
Marcoy. 

"  Danger  !  Did  you  not  see  his  mis- 
erable appearance  as  he  left  us  ?" 

"  I  saw  an  appearance  far  from  miser- 
able, and  therefore  I  am  convinced  that 
the  man  is  no  more  sick  than  you  or  I." 

On  hearing  such  a  heartless  heresy 
the  colonel  stepped  back  from  his  com- 
rade with  a  shocked  expression,  and 
asked  what  had  given  him  such  an  idea. 


"  A  number  of  things,  of  which  1  need 
only  mention  the  principal.  In  the  first 
place,  the  man's  sickness  falling  on  him 
like  a  thunder-clap ;  next,  his  haste  in 
catching  back  his  hand  when  you  tried 
to  feel  his  pulse ;  and  then  his  smile,  at 
once  happy  and  mischievous,  when  you 
offered  him  the  peons  and  he  found  his 
stratagem  succeeding  beyond  his  hopes." 

"Why,  now,  to  think  of  it!"  said  the 
colonel  sadly;  "but  what  could  have 
been  his  motive  ?" 

"This  gentleman  is  too  delicate  to  sus- 
tain our  kind  of  life,"  suggested  Marcoy. 
"  He  is  tired  of  skinning  his  hands  and 
legs  in  our  service,  and  eating  peccary, 
monkey  and  snails  as  we  do.  His  Bo- 
livians are  perhaps  quite  as  useful  for 
our  service,  and  while  he  is  rioting  at 
Cuzco  we  may  be  enriching  ourselves 
with  cinchonas." 

In  effect,  on  the  return  of  the  peons 
ten  days  after,  the  examinador  was  re- 
ported to  have  got  quit  of  his  fever  short- 
ly after  leaving  Sausipata,  and  to  have 
borne  the  journey  to  Chile-Chile  remark- 
ably well.  He  charged  his  men  to  take 
back  his  compliments  and  the  regrets  he 
felt  at  not  being  able  to  keep  with  the 
company. 

Nothing  detained  the  band  longer  at 
Sausipata.  The  ten  days  of  hunting, 
botanizing,  butterfly-catching  and  sketch- 
ing had  been  an  agreeable  relief,  and 
young  Aragon  had  assumed,  with  suf- 
ficient grace,  the  task  of  attentive  host 
and  first  player  on  the  charango.  The 
returning  porters  had  scarcely  enjoyed 
two  hours  of  repose  when  the  caravan 
took  up  its  march  once  more. 

As  usual,  the  interpreters  assumed  the 
head  of  the  command  :  the  Indians  fol- 
lowed pellmell.  Observing  that  some 
of  them  lingered  behind,  Mr.  Marcoy 
had  the  curiosity  to  return  on  his  steps. 
What  was  his  surprise  to  find  these  hon- 
est fellows  running  furiously  through  the 
farm,  and  devastating  with  all  their  might 
those  plantations  which  were  the  pride 
and  the  hope  of  the  nephew  of  Aragon ! 
They  had  already  laid  low  several  cocoa 
groves,  torn  up  the  sugar-canes,  broken 
down  the  bananas,  and  sliced  off  the 
green  pineapples. 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


IZ 


Indignant  at  such  vandalism,  Marcoy 
caught  the  first  offender  by  the  plaited 
tails  at  the  back  of  the  neck.  "What 
are  you  doing  ?"  he  cried. 

"I  am  neither  crazy  nor  drunk,  Tay- 
tachay"  (dear  litde  father),  calmly  ex- 
plained the  peon  with  his  placid  smile. 
"  But  my  fellows  and  I  don't  want  to  be 
sent  any  more  to  work  at  Sausipata." 
As  the  white  man  regarded  him  with 
stupefaction,  "Thou  art  strange  here," 
pursued  the  Indian,  "and  canst  know 
nothing  about  us.  Promise  not  to  tell 
Aragon,  and  I  will  make  thee  wise." 

"Why  Aragon  more  than  anybody 
else  ?"  asked  Marcoy. 

"Because  Senor  Aragon  is  nephew  to 
Don  ReboUido,  the  governor,  and  Sau- 
sipata belongs  to  ReboUido ;  and  if  he 
were  to  learn  what  we  have  done,  we 
should  be  flogged  and  sent  to  prison  to 
rot." 

The  explanation,  drawn  out  with  many 
threats  when  the  Indians  had  been  driven 
from  their  work  of  ruin  and  placed  once 
more  in  line  of  march,  was  curious. 

The  able  gobernador  of  Marcapata 
had  had  the  sagacious  idea  of  making 
the  local  penitentiary  out  of  his  farm 
of  Sausipata !  It  was  cultivated  entirely 
by  the  labor  of  his  culprits.  When  cul- 
prits were  scarce,  the  chicha- drinkers,  the 
corner-loungers,  became  criminals  and 
disturbers  of  the  peace,  for  whom  a  so- 
journ at  Sausipata  was  the  obvious  cure. 
Aragon,  the  nephew,  shared  his  uncle's 
ability,  and  visited  the  plantation  month 
by  month.  But  the  life  in  this  paradise 
was  not  relished  by  the  convicts.  The 
regimen  was  strict,  the  food  everywhere 
abounding  was  not  for  them,  and  the 
vicinity  of  the  wild  Chunchos  was  not 
reassuring.  Often  a  peon  would  appear 
in  the  market-place  of  Marcapata  wrap- 
ped merely  in  a  banana  leaf,  which, 
cracking  in  the  sun,  reduced  all  pretence 
of  decent  covering  to  an  irony.  This 
evidence  of  the  spoliation  of  a  Chuncho 
would  be  received  in  the  worst  possible 
part  by  the  gobernador,  who  would  beat 
the  complainant  back  to  his  servitude, 
remarking  with  ingenuity  that  Provi- 
dence was  more  responsible  for  the  acts 
of  the  savages  than  he  was. 
3 


!       This   strange  history,  told   with   pro- 

j  found  earnestness,  was  enough  to  make 
any  one  laugh,  but  Marcoy  could  not  be 
blind  to  its  side  of  oppression  and  tyr- 

I  anny.  This  was  the  way,  then,  that  the 
humble  and  primitive  gobernador,  who 
had  presented  himself  to  the  travelers 
barefoot,  was  enriching  himself  by  the 
knaveries  of  office  !  Marcoy  could  not 
take  heart  to  inform  Juan  of  Aragon  of 
the  devastation  behind  him,  but  on  the 
other  hand  he  resolved  to  correct  the 
abuse  on  his  return  by  appeal,  if  neces- 
sary, to  the  prefect  of  Cuzco. 

A  frightful  night  in  a  deserted  hut  on 
a  site  called  Jimiro — where  Marcoy  had 
for  mattress  the  legs  of  one  of  the  por- 
ters, and  for  pillow  the  back  of  a  bark- 
hunter — followed  the  exodus  from  Sau- 
sipata. The  Guarapascana,  the  Sani- 
aca,  the  Chuntapunco,  flowing  into  the 
Cconi  on  opposite  sides,  were  succes- 
sively left  behind  our  adventurers,  and 
they  bowed  for  an  instant  before  the 
tomb  of  a  stranger,  "a  German  from 
Germany,"  as  Pepe  Garcia  said,  "who 
pretended  to  know  the  language  of  the 
Chunchos,  and  who  interpreted  for  him- 
self, but  who  starved  in  the  wilderness 
near  the  heap  of  stones  you  see."  Leav- 
ing this  resting-place  of  an  interpreter 
who  had  interpreted  so  little,  the  party 
attained  a  stream  of  rather  unusual  im- 
portance. The  reputed  gold  -  bearing 
river  of  Ouitubamba  rolled  from  its  tun- 
nel before  them,  exciting  the  most  vis- 
ionary schemes  in  the  mind  of  Colonel 
Perez,  to  whom  its  auriferous  reputation 
was  familiar.  Nothing  would  do  but  that 
the  California  process  of  "panning"  must 
be  carried  out  in  these  Peruvian  waters, 
and  the  peons,  mitltiim  reluctantes,  were 
summoned  to  the  task,  with  all  the  crow- 
bars and  shovels  possessed  by  the  ex- 
pedition, supplemented  by  certain  sauce- 
pans and  dishes  hypothecated  from  the 
culinary  department.  The  issue  of  the 
stream  from  under  a  crown  of  indigen- 
ous growths  was  the  site  of  this  financial 
speculation.     Pepe  Garcia  was  placed  at 

'■  the  head  of  the  enterprise.  A  long  ditch 
was  dug,  revealing  milky  quartz,  ochres 
and   clay.     The   deceptive   hue   of  the 

I  yellow  earth  made  the  search  a  long  and 


34  SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 

tantalizing  one.     At  the  moment  when  \  tening  in  the  large  frying-pan  which  he 
the  colonel,  attracted  by  something  glis-  I  was  agitating  at  the  edge  of  the  stream, 


uttered  an  exclamation  which  drew  all  caused  everybody  suddenly  to  look  up. 
heads  into  the  cavity  of  his  receptacle,  An  equatorial  storm  had  gathered  un- 
an  answering  sound  from  the  heavens      noticed  over  their  heads.     In  a  few  min- 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


35 


utes  a  solid  sheet  of  warm  rain,  accom- 
panied by  a  furious  tornado  sweeping 
through  the  valley,  caused  whites  and 
Indians  to  scatter  as  if  for  their  lives. 
The  golden  dream  of  Colonel  Perez  and 
the  similar  vision  entertained  by  Pepe 
Garcia  were  dissipated  promptly  by  this 
answer  of  the  elements.  On  attaining 
the  neighboring  sheds  of  Maniri  the 
gold -seekers  abandoned  their  imple- 
ments without  remark  to  the  services 
of  the  cooks,  and  betook  themselves  to 
wringing  out  their  stockings  as  if  they 
had  never  dreamed  of  walking  in  silver 
slippers  through  the  streets  of  Cuzco. 
They  made  no  further  attempt  to  wring 
gold  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ouitubamba. 
As  for  Maniri,  it  was  the  last  site  or  hu- 
man resting-place  of  any,  the  very  most 
trivial,  kind  before  the  opening  of  the 
utter  wilderness  which  proceeded  to  ac- 
company the  course  of  the  Cconi  River. 

The  Bolivians  imagined  an  explora- 
tion of  a  little  stream  on  the  left  bank, 
the  Chuntapunco,  which  they  thought 
might  issue  from  a  quinine-bearing  re- 
gion. They  built  a  little  raft,  and  de- 
parted with  provisions  for  three  or  four 
days.  They  returned,  in  fact,  after  a 
week's  absence,  with  seven  varieties  of 
cinchona — the  hirsuta,  laticeolata,  pttr- 
purea  and  ovata  of  Ruiz  and  Pavon, 
and  three  more  of  little  value  and  un- 
known names. 

During  the  absence  of  the  cascarilleros 
a  flat  calm  reigned  in  the  ajoupa  of 
Maniri.  Garcia  and  the  colonel,  the 
day  after  their  unproductive  gold-hunt, 
betook  themselves  into  the  forest,  osten- 
sibly for  game,  but  in  reality  to  review 
their  hopeful  labors  by  the  banks  of  the 
Ouitubamba.  Aragon  was  detailed  by 
Mr.  Marcoy  to  accompany  him  in  his 
botanical  and  entomological  tours.  On 
these  excursions  the  acquaintance  be- 
tween the  mozo  and  the  sefior  was  con- 
siderably developed.  The  youth  had  nat- 
urally a  gay  and  confident  disposition, 
and  added  not  a  little  to  the  liveliness 
of  the  trips.  Marcoy  profited  by  their 
stricter  connection  to  converse  with  him 
about  the  cultivation  of  the  farm  at  Sau- 
sipata,  making  use  of  a  venial  deception 
to  let  him  think  that  the  plan  of  ope- 


rations had  been  communicated  by  the 
governor  himself.  Aragon  modestly  re- 
plied that  the  plantation  in  question  was 
only  the  first  of  a  series  of  similar  clear- 
ings contemplated  by  his  uncle  at  va- 
rious points  in  the  valley.  Arrange- 
ments made  for  this  purpose  with  the 
governors  of  Ocongata  and  Asaroma, 
who  were  pledged  with  their  support  in 
return  for  heavy  presents,  would  enable 
him  soon  to  cultivate  coffee  and  sugar 
and  cocoa  at  once  in  a  number  of  haci- 
endas. The  enterprise  was  a  splendid 
one  ;  and  if  God — Aragon  pronounced 
the  name  without  a  particle  of  diffidence 
— deigned  to  bless  it,  the  day  was  com- 
ing when  the  fortune  of  his  uncle,  solidly 
established,  would  make  him  the  pride 
and  the  joy  of  the  region. 

It  may  as  well  be  mentioned  here 
that  the  subsequent  career  of  the  chest- 
nut-colored interpreter  is  not  entirely 
unknown.  In  i860,  Mr.  Clement  IMark- 
ham,  collecting  quinine -plants  for  the 
British  government,  came  upon  a  splen- 
did hacienda  thirty  miles  from  the  village 
of  Ayapata,  in  a  valley  of  the  Andes 
near  the  scene  of  this  exploration.  Here, 
on  the  sugar-cane  estate  named  San  Jose 
de  Bellavista,  he  discovered  "an  intel- 
ligent and  enterprising  Peruvian"  named 
Aragon,  who  appears  to  have  been  none 
other  than  our  interpreter  escaped  from 
the  chrysalis.  His  establishment  was 
very  large,  and  protected  from  the  sav- 
ages by  two  rivers,  Aragon  had  made  a 
mule-road  of  thirty  miles  to  the  village. 
He  found  the  manufacture  of  spirits  for 
the  sugar-cane  more  profitable  than  dig- 
ging for  gold  in  the  Ouitubamba  or  hunt- 
ing for  cascarillas  along  the  Cconi.  In 
i860  he  sent  an  expedition  into  the  forest 
after  wild  cocoa-plants.  An  india-rub- 
ber manufactory  had  only  failed  for  want 
of  government  assistance.  He  contem- 
plated the  establishment  of  a  line  of 
steamers  on  the  neighboring  rivers  to 
carry  off  the  commerce  of  his  planta- 
tions. "Any  scheme  for  developing  the 
resources  of  the  country  is  sure  to  re- 
ceive his  advocacy,"  says  Mr.  Markham : 
"it  would  be  well  for  Peru  if  she  con- 
tained many  such  men." 

(end  of  part  second.) 


ip^i^T    th:i:e?.id 


EARLY  on  a  brilliant  morning,  with 
baggage  repacked,  and  the  lessen- 
ing amount  of  provisions  more  firmly- 
strapped  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Indians, 
the  explorers  left  their  pleasant  site  on 
the  banks  of  the  Maniri.  The  repose 
allowed  to  the  bulk  of  the  party  during 
the  absence  of  their  Bolivian  compan- 
ions had  been  wholesome  and  refresh- 
ing. The  success  of  the  bark -hunters  in 
their  search  for  cinchonas  had  cheered 
all  hearts,  and  the  luxurious  supper  of 
dried  mutton  and  chuno  arranged  for 
them  on  their  return  gave  a  reminiscence 
of  splendor  to  the  thatched  hut  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream.  This  edifice,  the 
last  of  civilized  construction  they  expect- 
ed to  see,  had  the  effect  of  a  home  in 
the  wilderness.  The  bivouac  there  had 
been  enjoyed  with  a  sentiment  of  tran- 
quil carelessness.  Little  did  the  trav- 
elers think  that  savage  eyes  had  been 
peeping  through  the  forest  upon  their 
fancied  security,  and  that  the  wild  peo- 
ple of  the  valleys  who  were  to  work  them 
all  kinds  of  mischief  were  upon  their 
track  from  this  station  forth. 

The  enormous  fire  kindled  for  break- 
fast mingled  with  the  stain  of  sunrise  to 
cast  a  glow  upon  their  departure.  Across 
the  vale  of  the  Cconi,  as  though  a  pair 
^6 


of  sturdy  porters  had  arisen  to  celebrate 
their  leavetaking,  the  cones  of  Patabam- 
ba  caught  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  and 
held  them  aloft  like  hospitable  torches. 
These  huge  forms,  soldered  together  at 
the  waist  like  Chang  and  Eng,  and 
clothed  with  shaggy  woods  up  to  the 
top,  had  been  the  guardian  watchers 
over  their  days  in  the  ajoupa  at  Maniri 
The  sun  just  rising  empurpled  their  dou- 
ble cones,  while  the  base  and  the  sur- 
rounding landscape  were  washed  with 
the  neutral  tints  of  twilight. 

After  passing  the  narrow  affluent  after 
which  the  camping  -  ground  of  Maniri 
was  named,  the  party  pursued  the  course 
of  the  Cconi  through  a  more  level  tract 
of  country.  The  stones  and  precipices 
became  more  rare,  but  in  revenge  the 
sandy  banks  soon  began  to  reflect  a  heat 
that  was  hardly  bearable.  As  the  im- 
placable sun  neared  its  zenith  the  party 
walked  with  bent  heads  and  blinded 
eyes,  now  dashing  through  great  plains 
of  bamboos,  now  following  the  hatchets 
of  the  peons  through  thickets  of  heated 
shrubbery. 

Whenever  the  country  became  more 
wooded  in  its  character,  the  bark-hunt- 
ers, whose  quest  obliged  them  to  stray 
in  short  flights  around  the  wings  of  the 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


37 


column,  redoubled  their  mazes.  The 
careless  air  of  these  Bolivian  retrievers, 
their  voluntary   doublings   throuj^h    the 


most  difficult  jungles,  and  their  easy 
way  of  walking  over  everything  with 
their  noses  in  the  air,  proved  well  their 


indifference  to  the  obstacles  which  were 
almost  insurmountable  to  the  rest. 


'ii;;'tiiii;!i;i|:ii,i!l^i|iiii|i|i|,iiiliiiiii, 


Nothing  could  be  more  singular  and 
interesting  than  to  see  them  consulting 


38 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


one  by  one  the  indications  scattered 
around  them,  and  deciding  on  their 
probabiHties  or  promises.  Where  the 
height  and  thickness  of  the  fohage  pre- 
vented them  from  seeing  the  sky,  or 
even  the  shade  of  the  surrounding  green, 
they  walked  bent  toward  the  ground, 
stirring  up  the  rubbish,  and  choosing 
among  the  dead  fohage  certain  leaves, 
of  which  they  carefully  examined  the 
two  sides  and  the  stem.  When  by  acci- 
dent they  found  themselves  near  enough 
to  speak  to  each  other — a  rare  chance, 
for  each  peon  undertook  a  separate 
hne  of  search — they  asked  their  friends, 
showing  the  leaves  they  had  found, 
whether  their  discoveries  appertained  to 
the  neighboring  trees  or  whether  the 
wind  had  brought  the  pieces  from  a  dis- 
tance. This  kind  of  investigation,  pur- 
sued by  men  who  had  prowled  through 
forests  all  their  lives,  might  seem  slightly 
puerile  if  the  reader  does  not  understand 
that  it  is  often  difficult,  or  even  impos- 
sible, to  recognize  the  growing  tree  by 
its  bark,  covered  as  it  is  from  base  to 
branches  with  parasitic  vegetation  of 
every  sort.  In  those  forests  whatever 
has  a  stout  stem  is  used  without  scruple 
by  the  bignonias  and  air-plants,  which 
race  over  the  trunk,  plant  their  root- 
claws  in  the  cracks,  leap  over  the  whole 
tree  at  a  single  jet,  or  strangle  it  with 
multiplied  knots,  all  the  while  adorning 
it  with  a  superb  mantle  of  leaves  and 
blossoms.  This  is  a  difficulty  which  the 
most  experienced  cascarilleros  are  not 
able  to  overcome.  As  an  instance,  the 
history  is  cited  of  a  practico  or  specula- 
tor who  led  an  exploration  for  these  trees 
in  the  valley  of  Apolobamba.  After 
having  caused  to  be  felled,  barked, 
measured,  dried  and  trimmed  all  the 
cinchonas  of  one  of  those  natural  thick- 
ets called  fnanc/tas — an  operation  which 
had  occupied  four  months — he  was  about 
to  abandon  the  spot  and  pursue  the  ex- 
ploration elsewhere,  when  accident  led 
him  to  discover,  in  the  enormous  trunk 
buried  in  creepers  against  which  he  had 
built  his  cabin,  a  Cinchona  tiitida,  the 
forefather  of  all  the  trees  he  had  stripped. 
In  this  kind  of  search  the  caravan 
pursued  the  borders  of  the  river,  some- 


times on  this  side  and  sometimes  on 
that,  now  passing  the  two-headed  moun- 
tain Camanti,  now  sighting  the  tufted 
peak  of  Basiri,  now  crossing  the  torrent 
called  the  Garote.  In  the  latter,  where 
the  dam  and  hydraulic  works  of  an  old 
Spanish  gold-hunter  were  still  visible  in 
a  state  of  ruin,  the  sacred  golden  thirst 
of  Colonel  Perez  once  more  attacked 
him.  Two  or  three  pins'  heads  of  the 
insane  metal  were  actually  unearthed 
by  the  colonel  and  displayed  in  a  pie- 
dish  ;  but  the  business  of  the  party  was 
one  which  made  even  the  finding  of 
gold  insignificant,  and  they  pursued 
their  way. 

The  flanks  of  these  mountains,  how- 
ever, were  really  of  importance  to  the  bo- 
tanical motive  of  the  expedition.  Along 
the  side  of  the  Camanti,  where  the  yel- 
low Garote  leaked  downward  in  a  rocky 
ravine,  the  Bolivians  were  again  success- 
ful. They  brought  to  Marcoy  specimens 
of  half  a  dozen  cinchonas,  for  him  to 
sketch,  analyze  and  decorate  with  Latin 
names.  The  colors  of  two  or  three  of 
these  barks  promised  well,  but  the  pearl 
of  the  collection  was  a  specimen  of  the 
genuine  Calisaya,  with  its  silver-gray 
envelope  and  leaf  ribbed  with  carmine. 
This  proud  discovery  was  a  boon  for 
science  and  for  commerce.  It  threw  a 
new  light  upon  the  geographical  locality 
of  the  most  precious  species  of  cinchona. 
It  was  incontestably  the  plant,  and  the 
Bolivians  appeared  amazed  rather  than 
pleased  to  have  discovered  outside  of 
their  own  country  a  kind  of  bark  proper 
only  to  Bolivia,  and  hardly  known  to 
overpass  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
valley  of  Apolobamba.  This  discovery 
would  rehabilitate,  in  the  European  mar- 
ket, the  quinine-plants  of  Lower  Peru, 
heretofore  considered  as  inferior  to  those 
of  Upper  Peru  and  Bolivia.  The  latter 
country  has  for  some  time  secured  the 
most  favorable  reputation  for  its  barks 
— a  reputation  ably  sustained  by  the 
efforts  of  the  company  De  la  Paz,  to 
whom  the  government  has  long  granted 
a  monopoly.  This  reputation  is  based 
on  the  abundance  in  that  country  of  two 
species,  the  Cinchona  calisaya  and  Bo- 
liviana,  the  best  known  and  most  valued 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


39 


in  the  market.  But  for  two  valuable 
cinchonas  possessed  by  Bolivia,  Peru 
can  show  twenty,  many  of  them  excel- 
lent in  quality,  and  awaiting  only  the 
enterprise  of  the  government  and  the 
natural  exhaustion  of  the  forests  to  the 
south. 

This  magnificent  bit  of  luck,  the  find- 
ing of  the  calisaya,  awakened  in  the  sus- 
ceptible bosom  of  Mr.  Marcoy  an  ardent 
desire  to  explore  for  himself  the  site  of 
its  discovery.  But  Eusebio,  the  chief 
of  the  cascarilleros,  assuming  a  myste- 
rious and  warning  expression,  informed 
the  traveler  that  the  place  was  quite  in- 
accessible for  a  white  man,  and  that  he 
had  risked  his  own  neck  a  score  of  times 
in  descending  the  ravine  which  separated 
the  route  from  the  hillside  where  the  for- 
tunate plants  were  growing.  He  prom- 
ised, however,  to  point  out  the  locality 
from  afar,  and  to  show,  by  a  certain 
changeable  gloss  proper  to  the  leaf,  the 
precise  stratum  of  the  calisaya  amongst 
the  belts  of  the  forest.  This  promise  he 
forgot  to  execute  more  particularly,  but 
it  appeared  that  the  locality  would  never 
be  excessively  hard  to  find,  marked  as 
it  was  by  Nature  with  the  gigantic  finger- 
post of  Mount  Camanti.  Placing,  then, 
in  security  these  precious  specimens 
among  their  baggage,  the  explorers  con- 
tinued their  advance  along  the  valley. 

The  footing  was  level  and  easy. 
Rocks  and  precipices  were  left  behind, 
and  were  displaced  by  a  soft,  slippery 
sort  of  sand,  where  from  space  to  space 
were  planted,  like  so  many  oases  in  a 
desert,  clumps  of  giant  reeds.  By  a 
strange  but  natural  caprice  these  beds 
of  rustling  verdure  were  cut  in  an  infin- 
ity of  well-defined  geometric  forms.  Seen 
from  an  eminence  and  at  a  distance,  this 
arrangement  gave  a  singular  effect.  In 
the  midst  of  these  native  garden-beds 
were  cut  distinct  and  narrow  alleys,  where 
the  drifting  sands  were  packed  like  arti- 
ficial paths.  It  is  unnecessary  to  add 
that  the  soft  footways,  notwithstanding 
their  advertisement  of  verdure  and  shade, 
proved  to  be  of  African  temperature. 

The  last  hours  of  daylight  surprised 
the  travelers  among  the  labyrinths  of 
these  strange  gardens.     A  suitable  spot 


was  chosen  for  the  halt.  As  the  porters 
were  preparing  to  throw  down  their 
packs,  Pepe  Garcia,  who  marched  ahead, 
announced  the  print  of  a  South  Amer- 
ican tiger.  The  first  care  of  the  Indians, 
on  hearing  this  news,  was  to  send  forth 
a  horrible  cry  and  to  throng  around  the 
marks.  The  footprints  disappeared  at 
the  thickest  part  of  the  jungle.  After  an 
examination  of  the  traces,  which  resem- 
bled a  large  trefoil,  they  precipitated 
themselves  on  the  interpreter-in-chief, 
representing  how  impossible  it  was  to 
camp  out  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
dreaded  animal.  But  Pepe  Garcia,  ac 
customed  as  he  was  by  profession  to  try 
his  strength  with  the  ferocious  bear  and 
the  wily  boar,  was  not  the  man  to  be 
afraid  of  a  tiger,  even  of  a  genuine  tigei 
from  Bengal.  To  prove  to  the  porters 
how  slight  was  the  estimation  he  placed 
on  the  supposed  enemy,  and  also  to  drill 
them  in  the  case  of  similar  rencounters, 
he  pushed  the  whole  troop  pellmell  into 
the  thickest  part  of  the  reeds,  with  the 
surly  order  to  cut  down  the  canes  for 
sheds.  Drawing  his  own  knife,  he  slash- 
ed right  and  left  among  the  stems,  which 
the  Indians,  trembling  with  fear,  were 
obliged  to  make  into  sheaves  on  the 
spot  and  transport  to  the  beach  selected 
for  the  bivouac.  Double  rows  of  these 
arundos,  driven  into  the  sand,  formed 
the  partitions  of  the  cabins,  for  which 
their  interwoven  leaves  made  an  ap- 
propriate thatch.  The  green  halls  with 
matted  vaults  were  picturesque  enough  : 
each  peon,  seeing  how  easily  they  were 
constructed,  chose  to  have  a  house  foi 
himself;  and  the  Tiger's  Beach  quickly 
presented  the  appearance  of  a  camp 
disposed  in  a  long  straight  line,  of  which 
the  timorous  Indians  occupied  the  ex- 
tremity nearest  the  river. 

No  "tiger"  appeared  to  justify  the  ap- 
prehensions of  the  porters  ;  but  what  was 
lacking  to  their  fears  from  beasts  with 
four  feet  was  made  up  to  them  by  beasts 
with  wings.  The  night  closed  in  dry  and 
serene.  Since  leaving  Maniri,  whether 
because  of  the  broadening  of  the  valley, 
the  rarity  of  the  water-courses  or  the 
decreasing  altitude  of  the  hills,  the  ad- 
venturers had  been  little  troubled  with 


40 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


fogs  at  night.     The  fauna  of  the  region, 
too,  had  offered  nothing  of  an  alarming 


complexion,  except  the  footprints  of  the 
tiger  in  question  :  an  occasional  tapir  or 


peccary  from  the  woods,  and  otters  and 
fish  from  the  streams,  had  attracted  the 
shots  of  the  party,  but  merely  as  wel- 


come additions  to  their  game-bags,  not 
as  food  for  their  fears.  To-night,  how- 
ever, the  veritable  bugbear  of  the  trop- 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


41 


ical  forest  paid  them  a  visit,  and  left  a 
real  souvenir  of  his  presence.  As  the 
Indian  servants  stretched  themselves  out 
in  slumber  under  the  bright  stars  and  in 
the  partial  shelter  of  their  ajoupas,  a  bat 
of  the  vampire  species,  attracted  by  the 
emanations  of  their  bodies,  came  sail- 
ing over  them,  and  emboldened  by  the 
silence  reigning  everywhere,  selected  a 
victim  for  attack.  Hovering  over  the 
fellow's  exposed  foot,  he  bit  the  great 
toe,  and  fanning  his  prey  in  the  tradi- 
tional yet  inevitable  manner  by  the  nat- 
ural movement  of  his  wings,  he  gorged 
himself  with  blood  without  disturbing 
the  mozo.  The  latter,  on  awakening  in 
the  morning,  observed  a  slight  swelling 
in  the  perforated  part,  and  on  exam- 
ination discovered  a  round  hole  large 
enough  to  admit  a  pea.  Without  rising, 
the  man  summoned  his  companions, 
who  formed  a  group  around  him  for  the 
purpose  of  furnishing  a  certain  natural 
remedy  in  the  shape  of  a  secretion  which 
each  one  drew  out  of  his  ears.  With 
this  the  patient  made  himself  a  plaster 
for  his  wound,  and  appeared  to  think 
but  little  of  it.  Questioned  as  to  his 
sensations  by  the  white  travelers,  who 
found  themselves  a  good  deal  more  dis- 
turbed with  the  idea  of  the  vampire  than 
they  had  been  by  any  indications  of 
tigers  or  wild-boars,  the  fellow  explained 
that  he  had  felt  no  sensation,  unless  it 
might  have  been  an  agreeable  coolness 
to  his  sand-baked  feet.  The  incident 
seemed  so  disagreeable  and  so  likely  of 
recurrence  that  Colonel  Perez  ever  af- 
terivard  slept  with  his  feet  rolled  up  in  a 
variety  of  fantastic  draperies,  while  Mr. 
Marcoy  for  several  nights  retained  his 
boots. 

The  path  along  the  river-sands  would 
have  been  voluntarily  followed  by  all  the 
more  irresponsible  portion  of  the  party, 
notwithstanding  the  bUnding  heats,  on 
account  of  its  smoother  footing.  The 
cascarilleros,  however,  objected  that  its 
tufts  of  canes  and  passifloras  offered  no 
promise  for  their  researches.  A  com- 
promise was  effected.  The  porters,  un- 
der the  command  of  Juan  of  Aragon, 
were  allowed  to  follow  the  shore,  and 
were  armed  with  a  supply  of  fish-hooks 


to  induce  them  to  add  from  time  to  time 
to  the  alarmingly  diminished  supply  of 
provisions.  The  grandees  of  the  party 
followed  the  Bolivians,  whose  specialty 
entitled  them  to  control  practically  the 
direction  of  the  route,  and  plunged  into 
the  woods  to  botanize,  to  explore  and 
to  search  for  game.  A  system  of  con- 
versation by  means  of  shouts  and  pis- 
tol-shots was  established  between  the 
two  divisions.  The  next  night  proved 
the  wisdom  of  this  bifurcation.  The 
united  booty  of  earth,  air  and  water, 
under  the  form  of  a  squirrel,  a  pair  of 
toucans  and  a  variety  of  fish,  afforded 
a  meal  which  the  porters  described  as 
comida  opipara,  or  a  sumptuous  festi- 
val. Lulled  and  comforted  by  the  sen- 
sation which  a  contented  stomach  wafts 
toward  the  brain,  the  explorers,  after 
washing  their  hands  and  rinsing  their 
mouths  at  the  riverside,  betook  them- 
selves to  a  cheerful  repose  sub  Jove,  the 
locality  offering  no  reeds  of  the  articu- 
lated species  with  which  to  construct  a 
shelter. 

The  party,  then,  betook  themselves  to 
slumber  with  unusual  contentment,  re- 
peating the  splendid  supper  in  their 
dreams,  with  the  addition  of  every  fa- 
mous wine  that  Oporto  and  Rheims 
could  dispense,  when  they  were  awak- 
ened by  a  sudden  and  terrible  storm. 
A  waterspout  stooped  over  the  forest  and 
sucked  up  a  mass  of  crackling  branches. 
The  camp-fire  hissed  and  went  out  in  a 
fume  of  smoke.  A  continuity  of  thun- 
der, far  off  at  first,  but  approaching 
nearer  and  nearer,  kept  up  a  constant 
and  increasing  fusillade,  to  whose  reports 
was  soon  added  the  voice  of  the  Cconi, 
lashed  in  its  bed  and  bellowing  like  the 
sea.  The  surprising  tumult  went  on  in 
a  crescendo.  The  hardly  -  interrupted 
charges  of  the  lightning  gave  to  the  eye 
a  strange  vision  of  flying  woods  and 
soaring  branches.  Startled,  trembling 
and  sitting  bolt  upright,  the  adventurers 
asked  if  their  last  hour  were  come.  The 
rain  undertook  to  answer  in  spinning 
down  upon  their  heads  drops  that  were 
like  bullets,  and  which  for  some  time 
were  taken  for  hail.  Fearing  to  be 
maimed  or  blinded  as  they  sat,  the  party 


42 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


crowded  together,  placing  themselves 
back  to  back ;  and,  unable  to  lay  their 
heads  under  their  wings  like  the  birds, 
sheltered  them  upon  their  knees  under 
the  protection  of  their  crossed  arms. 
The  fearful  deluge  of  heated  shot  lasted 
until  morning.  Then,  as  if  in  laughter, 
the  sun  came  radiantly  out,  the  land- 
scape readjusted  its  disheveled  beauties, 
and  the  ground,  covered  with  boughs 
distributed  by  the  whirlwind,  greedily 
drank  in  the  waters  from  heaven.  Soon 
there  remained  nothing  of  the  memor- 
able tempest  but  the  diamonds  falling 
in  measured  cadence  from  the  refreshed 
and  stiffened  leaves. 

Up  to  sunrise  the  unfortunates  rest- 
ed stoically  silent,  their  knees  in  their 
mouths,  and  receiving  the  visitation  like 
a  group  of  statuary.  The  rain  ceasing 
with  the  same  promptitude  with  which  it 
had  risen,  they  raised  their  heads  and 
looked  each  other  in  the  face,  like  the 
enemies  over  the  fire  in  Byron's  Dream. 
Each  countenance  was  blue,  and  deco- 
rated with  long  flat  locks  of  adhesive 
hair.  The  teeth  of  the  whole  party  were 
chattering  like  a  concert  of  castanets. 
The  sun,  like  a  practical  joker,  laughed 
ironically  at  the  general  picture. 

The  first  hours  of  morning  were  con- 
secrated to  a  general  examination  of  the 
stores,  especially  the  precious  specimens 
of  cinchona.  Bundles  were  restrapped, 
the  damp  provisions  laid  out  in  the  sun, 
and  the  clothing  of  the  party,  even  to 
the  most  intimate  garment,  was  taken 
down  to  the  river  to  be  refreshed  and 
furbished  up.  A  common  disaster  had 
created  a  common  cause  amongst  the 
whole  troop,  and  with  one  accord  every- 
body— peons,  mozos,  interpreters,  bark- 
strippers  and  gentlemen — set  in  motion 
a  grand  cleaning-up  day.  Napoleon- 
like, they  washed  their  dirty  linen  in  the 
family.  Whoever  had  seen  the  strangers 
coming  and  going  from  the  beach  to  the 
woods,  clothed  in  most  abbreviated  fash- 
ion, and  seeming  as  familiar  to  the  uni- 
form as  if  they  had  always  worn  it  under 
the  charitable  mantle  of  the  woods,  would 
have  taken  them  for  a  savage  tribe  in  the 
midst  of  its  encampment.  It  is  probable 
they  were  so  seen. 


Thanks  to  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun- 
shine, the  garments  and  baggage  of  the 
expedition  were  quickly  dried.  The  first 
were  donned,  the  last  was  loaded  on  the 
porters,  and  the  line  of  march  was  taken 
up.  Up  to  noon  the  road  lay  along  the 
blazing  sands  under  a  sun  of  fire.  All 
the  members  of  the  party  felt  fresh  and 
hardy  after  the  involuntary  bath,  except 
one  of  the  Indians,  who  was  affected 
with  a  kind  of  ophthalmia.  This  attack, 
which  Mr.  Marcoy  attributed  partly  to 
the  glare,  partly  to  the  wet,  and  partly 
to  a  singular  hobby  peculiar  to  the  in- 
dividual of  sleeping  with  his  eyes  wide 
open,  was  of  no  long  duration.  The 
pain  which  he  complained  of  disappear- 
ed with  a  few  hours  of  exercise  and  with 
the  determination  he  showed  in  staring 
straight  at  the  god  of  day,  who,  as  if 
in  memory  of  the  worship  formerly  ex- 
tended toward  him  in  the  country,  deign- 
ed to  serve  as  oculist  for  the  sufferer.  A 
little  before  sunset  halt  was  made  for  the 
night-camp  in  the  centre  of  a  beach  pro- 
tected by  clumps  of  reeds  in  three  quar- 
ters of  the  wind.  The  Indian  porters, 
despatched  for  fish  and  firewood,  return- 
ed suddenly  with  a  frightened  mien  to 
say  that  they  had  fallen  into  the  midst 
of  a  camp  of  savages.  The  white  men 
quickly  rejoined  them  at  the  spot  indi- 
cated, where  they  found  a  single  hut  in 
ruins,  made  of  reeds  which  appeared  to 
have  been  cut  for  the  construction  some 
fortnight  before,  and  strewn  with  fire- 
brands, banana  skins  and  the  tail  of  a 
large  fish.  Pepe  Garcia,  consulted  on 
these  indications,  explained  that  it  was 
in  reality  the  camping-place  of  some  of 
the  savage  Siriniris,  but  that  the  narrow- 
ness of  the  hut  seemed  to  indicate  that 
not  more  than  two  of  the  Indians,  prob- 
ably a  man  and  woman,  had  resided 
there  during  a  short  fishing-excursion. 

This  discovery  cast  a  shade  over  the 
countenances  of  the  porters.  After  hav 
ing  collected  the  provisions  necessary 
for  a  slender  supper,  they  drew  apart, 
and,  while  cooking  was  going  on,  began 
to  converse  with  each  other  in  a  low 
voice.  No  notice  was  taken  of  their  be- 
havior, however,  though  it  would  have 
required  little  imagination  to  guess  the 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


43 


subject  of  their  parliament.     The  tired  I  while  their  ears,  more  alert,  could  hear 
eyes  of  the  explorers  were  already  closed,      the  confused  murmur  proceeding  from 


Illiillltliilliliiiilll'i^i'niii'Sliiiiii^^ 


the  Indians'  quarter,  where  the  dispo-  ]  The  dark  hours  filed  past,  and  jocund 
sition  seemed  to  be  to  prolong  the  watch  j  day,  according  to  Shakespeare  and  Ro- 
indefinitely.  I  meo,  stood  tiptoe  on  the  mountain-tops 


44 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


of  Camanti  and  Basiri,  when  the  travel 
ers  were  awakened  by  a  fierce  and  ter 


rible  cry.     Lifting  their  heads  in  aston- 
ishment, they  perceived  the  faithful  Pepe 


'  '■^Y\.'^<^'Jr- 
'  I 

"  ARAGON    AND    HIS    MEN    FELL    UPON    TliE    DESERIERS    WITHOUT    MERCY." — P.  45. 


Garcia,  his  face  disfigured  with  rage, 
and  his  fist  shaking  vigorously  in  the 
direction  of  the  Indians,  who  sat  lower- 


ing and  sullen  in  their  places.  Aragon 
and  the  cascarilleros,  collected  around 
the  chief  interpreter,  far  from  trying  to 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


45 


calm  his  anger,  appeared  to  feed  it  by 
their  suggestions.  An  explanation  of 
the  scene  was  demanded.  Eight  of  the 
bearers,  it  appeared,  had  deserted,  leav- 
ing to  their  comrades  the  pleasure  of 
watching  over  the  packages  of  cinchona, 
but  assuming  for  their  part  the  charge  of 
a  good  fraction  of  the  provisions,  which 
they  had  disappeared  with  for  the  relief 
of  their  fellow-porters.  This  copious 
bleeding  of  the  larder  drew  from  Colonel 
Perez  a  terrible  oath,  and  occasioned  a 
more  vivid  sentiment  in  the  entrails  of 
Marcoy  than  the  defection  of  the  men. 
If  the  evil  was  grand,  the  remedy  was 
correspondingly  difficult.  Indolent  or 
mercurial  at  pleasure,  the  Indians  had 
doubtless  threaded  the  woods  with  wing- 
ed feet,  and  were  now  far  away.  Mr. 
Marcoy  proposed  therefore  to  continue 
•■he  march  without  them,  but  to  set  down 
a  heavy  account  of  bastinadoes  to  their 
credit  when  they  should  turn  up  again 
at  Marcapata.  This  proposition,  as  it 
erred  on  the  side  of  mercy,  was  unani- 
mously rejected,  and  a  scouting-party 
was  ordered  in  pursuit,  consisting  of  the 
bark-hunters  and  Juan  of  Aragon,  to 
whom  for  the  occasion  Pepe  Garcia  con- 
fided his  remarkable  fowling-piece. 

In  the  afternoon  the  extemporized  po- 
lice reappeared.  The  fugitives  had  been 
found  tranquilly  sitting  on  the  banks  of 
the  river,  distending  their  abdomens  with 
the  stolen  preserves  and  chocolate.  Ara- 
gon and  his  men  fell  upon  the  deserters 
without  mercy.  The  former,  battering 
away  at  them  with  the  stock  of  his  gun, 
and  the  latter,  exercising  upon  their 
shoulders  whatever  they  possessed  in  the 
way  of  lassoes,  axe-handles  and  sabre- 
blades,  maintained  the  argument  effect- 
ually for  some  time  in  this  way,  and  did 
not  descend  to  questions  until  muscular 
fatigue  caused  them  to  desist.  The  cat- 
echism subsequently  put  to  the  porters 
elicited  the  reply,  from  the  spokesman 
of  the  recusants,  that  they  were  tired  of 
being  afraid  of  the  wild  Indians ;  that 
they  objected  to  marching  into  the  dens 
of  tigers ;  that,  perceiving  their  rations 
diminished  from  day  to  day,  they  had 
imagined  the  time  not  far  distant  when 
the  same  would  be  withdrawn  altogeth- 


er. It  was  curious,  as  it  seemed  to  Mar- 
coy when  the  argument  was  rehearsed 
to  him  presently,  that  the  fellows  made 
no  complaint  of  being  footsore,  over- 
charged with  burdens  or  conducted  into 
paths  too  difficult  for  them.  A  iarking 
admiration  for  the  vigor  with  which,  after 
all,  they  played  their  crushing  part  of 
beasts  of  burden,  procured  them  immu- 
nity from  further  punishment  after  their 
return.  Their  bivouacs  were  simply 
watched  on  the  succeeding  nights  by 
Bolivian  sentinels. 

After  a  few  minutes  allowed  the  stray- 
ed sheep  to  rub  their  bruises,  the  march 
was  continued.  The  afternoon  afforded 
a  succession  of  the  same  sandy  river- 
banks,  dressed  with  reeds,  false  maize, 
calceolarias  and  purple  passion-ilowers, 
and  yielding  for  sole  booty  a  brace  of 
wild  black  ducks,  and  an  opossum  hold- 
ing in  her  pouch  five  saucy  and  scolding 
little  ones.  The  natural  civet  employed 
as  a  cosmetic  by  this  animal  forbade  the 
notion  of  using  it  for  food,  and  it  was 
thrown  with  its  family  into  the  river, 
after  being  deprived  of  its  glossy  skin. 

As  evening  approached,  and  as  all 
eyes  were  exploring  the  banks  for  a  suit- 
able camping-ground,  a  spacious  and 
even  beach  was  fixed  upon  as  offering 
all  the  requisite  conveniences.  It  was 
agreed  to  halt  there.  Attaining  the 
locality,  however,  they  were  amazed  to 
find  all  the  traces  of  a  previous  occupa- 
tion. Several  sheds,  formed  of  bamboo 
hurdles  set  up  against  the  ground  with 
sticks,  like  traps,  were  grouped  together. 
Under  each  was  a  hearth,  a  simple  ex- 
cavation, two  feet  across  and  a  few  inches 
deep,  and  filled  with  ashes.  A  few  ar- 
rows, feathers  and  rude  pieces  of  pottery 
were  scattered  around.  They  greeted 
these  Indian  relics  as  Crusoe  did  the 
footprints  of  the  savages.  Nor  was  it 
more  reassuring  to  observe,  among  other 
callers  like  themselves  who  had  left  their 
visiting-cards  at  the  doors  since  the  de- 
parture of  the  proprietors,  the  sign-man- 
ual of  jaguars  and  tapirs,  whose  foot- 
prints were  plainly  visible  on  the  gravel. 

A  close  examination  was  made  of 
every  detail  pertaining  to  the  huts  and 
their   accessories,   and   the   interpreters 


46 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


were  asked  if  it  would  be  prudent  to  en- 
camp in  a  spot  thus  leased  in  advance. 


Pepe  Garcia  and  Aragon  were  of  opinion 
that  it  would  be  better  to  pass  the  night 


there,  assuring  their  employers  that  there 
would  be  no  danger  in  sleeping  among 
the  teraphim  of  the  savages,  provided 


that  nothing  was  touched  or  displaced 
Their  motion  was  promptly  adopted,  to 
the  great  discomfiture  of  the  porters,  who 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


47 


were  poised  on  one  foot  ready  for  flight. 
A  salute  of  five  shots  was  fired,  with  a 
vague  intention  of  giving  any  listeners 
the  highest  possible  opinion  of  the  white 
explorers  as  a  military  power.  An  enor- 
mous fire  was  kindled,  sentinels  were 
posted,  and  the  party  turned  in,  taking 
care,  however,  during  the  whole  night 
to  close  but  one  eye  at  a  time. 

Day  commenced  to  blush,  when  all 
ears  were  assaulted  by  a  concerted  howl, 
proceeding  from  behind  a  bed  of  canes 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  ''Alerta  ! 
los  Chutichos  f  cried  the  sentinel.  The 
three  words  produced  a  startling  effect : 
the  porters  sprang  up  like  frightened 
deer ;  Mr.  Marcoy  grasped  a  sheaf  of 
pencils  and  a  box  of  water-colors  with 
a  warlike  air,  and  the  colonel's  lips  were 
crisped  into  a  singular  smile,  indicative  of 
lively  emotions.  Hardly  were  the  trav- 
elers clothed  and  armed  when  the  reeds 
parted  with  a  rattling  noise,  and  three 
nude  Indians,  sepia-colored  and  crowned 
with  tufts  of  hair  like  horses'  tails,  leaped 
out  like  jacks-in-the-box.  At  sight  of 
the  party  standing  to  receive  them  they 
redoubled  their  clamor,  then,  flourishing 
their  arms  and  legs  and  turning  con- 
tinually round,  they  gradually  revolved 
into  the  presence  of  the  explorers.  They 
selected  as  chiefs  and  sachems  of  the 
party  such  as  bore  weapons,  being  the 
colonel,  Marcoy  and  the  two  interpreters. 
These  they  clasped  in  a  warm,  fulsome 
embrace  :  they  were  smeared  from  head 
to  foot  with  rocoa  (crude  arnotta),  and 
their  passage  through  the  river  having 
dissolved  this  pigment,  they  printed 
themselves  off,  in  this  act  of  amity,  upon 
the  persons  and  clothing  of  their  hosts. 
While  the  white  men,  with  a  very  bad 
grace,  were  cleaning  off  these  tokens  of 
natural  affection,  the  new-comers  went 
on  to  present  their  civilities  all  around. 
Two  of  the  porters  they  recognized  at 
once,  with  their  eagle  eyesight,  from 
having  relieved  them  of  their  shirts 
while  the  latter  were  working  out  some 
penalty  at  the  governor's  farm  of  Sausi- 
pata,  and  proceeded  to  claim  a  warm 
acquaintance  on  that  basis ;  but  the 
bearers,  with  equally  lively  memories 
of  the  affront,  responded  simply  with  a 


frown  and  the  epithet  of  Sua-sua — double 
thief. 

Pepe  Garcia  undertook  a  colloquy,  and 
Aragon,  not  to  be  behindhand,  flashed  a 
few  words  across  the  conversation,  right 
and  left  as  it  were,  his  expressions  ap- 
pearing to  be  in  a  different  tongue  from 
those  used  by  the  chief  interpreter,  and 
both  utterly  without  perceptible  resem- 
blance to  the  rolling  consonants  and 
gutturals  of  the  savages.  Marcoy  im- 
bibed a  strong  impression  that  the  only 
terms  understood  in  common  were  the 
words  of  Spanish  with  which  the  palaver 
was  thickly  interlarded.  This  was  the 
first  time  the  interpreters  were  put  on 
their  mettle  in  a  strictly  professional 
sense,  and  the  test  was  not  altogether 
triumphant.  However,  by  a  careful 
raising  of  the  voice  in  all  difficult  pas- 
sages, and  a  wild,  expressive  pantomime, 
an  understanding  was  arrived  at. 

The  visitors  belonged  to  the  tribe  of 
Siriniris,  inhabiting  the  space  comprised 
between  the  valleys  of  Ocongate  and 
Ollachea,  and  extending  eastwardly  as 
far  as  the  twelfth  degree.  They  lived  at 
peace  with  their  neighbors,  the  Huat- 
chipayris  and  the  Pukiris.  For  several 
days  the  reports  of  the  Christian  guns 
[tasa-tasa]  had  advertised  them  of  the 
presence  of  white  men  in  the  valley, 
and,  curious  to  judge  of  their  numbers, 
they  had  approached.  They  had  form- 
ed a  cunning  escort  to  the  party,  always 
faithful  but  never  seen,  since  the  en- 
campment at  Maniri :  every  camping- 
ground  since  that  particular  bivouac 
they  faithfully  described.  They  were, 
of  course,  in  particular  and  direful  need 
of  sirutas  and  bambas  (knives  and  hatch- 
ets), but  their  fears  of  the  tasa-tasa,  or 
guns,  was  still  stronger  than  their  desires, 
and  their  courage  had  not,  until  they 
saw  the  strangers  domiciled  as  guests  in 
their  own  habitations,  attained  the  firm- 
ness and  consistency  necessary  for  a 
personal  approach.  The  three  dancing 
ambassadors  were  ministers  plenipoten- 
tiary on  the  part  of  their  tribe,  located 
in  a  bamboo  metropolis  five  miles  off. 

The  white  men  could  not  well  avoid 
laying  down  their  tasa-tasa  and  disburs- 
ing sirutas  and  bambas.     The  savages, 


48 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


after  this  triumph  of  diplomacy,  sudden- 
ly turned,  and,  thrusting  their  fingers  in 
their  mouths,  emitted  a  shrill  note,  which 
had  the  effect  of  enchanting  the  forest 
of  rushes  across  the  river,  and  causing 
it  to  give  birth  to  a  whole  ballet  of  naked 
coryphei.  Nine  men,  seven  women  and 
three  dogs  composed  the  spectacle,  of 
which  the  masculine  part,  the  human 
and  the  canine,  proceeded  to  swim  the 
stream  and  fraternize  with  the  strangers. 
The  women  rested  on  the  bank  like  riv- 
er-nymphs :  their  costume  was  some- 
what less  prudish  than  that  of  the  men, 
the  coat  of  rocoa  being  confined  to  their 
faces,  which  were  further  decorated  with 
joints  of  reed  thrust  through  the  nose 
and  ears.  A  glance  of  curiosity  darted 
across  the  water  by  the  colonel  was  sur- 
prised in  its  flight  by  the  ambassadors, 
who  addressed  a  hasty  word  or  two  to 
their  ladies :  the  latter,  with  one  quick 
and  cat-like  gesture,  whipped  off  each  a 
branch  of  the  nearest  foliage,  and  were 
dressed  in  a  single  instant. 

To  reward  all  these  vociferous  men- 
dicants with  the  invaluable  cutlery  was 
hardly  prudent.     Seeing  the  hesitation 
of  their   visitors,  the   savages   adopted 
other  tactics.     Hurling  themselves  across 
the  river,  they  quickly  reappeared,  arm- 
ed with  all  the  temptations  they  could 
think  of  to  induce  the  strangers  to  barter. 
The  scene  of  these  savages  coming  to 
market  was  a  picturesque  one.     Enter- 
ing the  water,  provided  with  their  objects 
of  exchange,  which  they  held  high  above 
their  heads,  and  swimming  with  the  right 
arm  only,  they  began  to  cut  the  river  di- 
agonally.    The  lifting  of  the  waves  and 
the  dash  of  spray  almost  concealed  the 
file  of  dusky  heads.     Nothing  could  be 
plainly  seen  but  the  left  arms,  standing  i 
out  of  the  water  as  stiff  and  inflexible  ' 
as   so   many  bars   of   bronze,  relieved  ; 
against    the    silvery   brightness   of    the  i 
water.      These    advancing    arms   were  \ 
adorned  with  the  material  of  traffic —  ' 
bird-skins  of  variegated  colors,  bows  and 
arrows,  and  live  tamed  parrots  standing 
upon  perches  of  bamboo.     The  white 
spectators  could  not  but  admire  the  na- 
tive vigor,  elegance  and  promptitude  of 
their  motions  as  they  rose  from  the  wa-  i 


ter  like  Tritons,  and,  throwing  their  treas- 
ures down  in  a  heap,  bounded  forward 
to  give  their  visitors  the  conventiojial 
signals  of  friendship.  A  rapid  bargain 
was  concluded,  in  which  the  sylvan 
booty  of  the  wild  men  (not  forgetting  the 
prudent  exaction  of  their  weapons)  was 
entirely  made  over  to  the  custody  of  the 
explorers  in  exchange  for  a  few  Birming- 
ham knives  worth  fourpence  each. 

However  curious  and  amicable  might 
be  their  new  relations  with  the  savages, 
the  party  were  desirous  to  put  an  end  to 
them  as  soon  as  possible.  Pepe  Garcia 
announced  that  the  pale  chiefs,  wishing 
to  resume  their  march,  were  about  to 
separate  from  them.  This  decision  ap- 
peared to  be  unpleasant  or  distressful  in 
their  estimation,  and  they  tried  to  reverse 
it  by  all  sorts  of  arguments.  No  answer 
being  volunteered,  they  shouted  to  their 
women  to  await  them,  and  betook  them- 
selves to  walking  with  the  party.  One 
of  the  three  ambassadors,  a  graceful 
rogue  of  twenty-five,  marked  all  over 
with  rocoa  and  lote,  so  as  to  earn  for 
himself  the  nickname  of  "the  Panther," 
gamboled  and  caracoled  in  front  of  the 
procession  as  if  to  give  it  an  entertain- 
ment. His  two  comrades  had  garroted 
with  their  arms  the  neck  of  the  chief  in- 
terpreter :  another  held  Juan  of  Aragon 
by  the  skirt  of  his  blouse,  and  regulated 
his  steps  by  those  of  the  youth.  This 
accord  of  barbarism  and  civilization  had 
in  it  something  decidedly  graceful,  and 
rather  pathetic :  if  ever  the  language 
natural  to  man  was  found,  the  medium 
in  circulation  before  our  sickly  machinery 
of  speech  came  to  be  invented,  it  was  in 
this  concert  of  persuasive  action  and 
tender  cooing  notes.  The  main  body 
of  the  Siriniris  marched  pellmell  along 
with  the  porters,  whom  this  vicinage 
made  exceedingly  uncomfortable,  and 
who  were  perspiring  in  great  drops. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  wood  the 
whites  embraced  the  occasion  to  take 
formal  leave  of  their  new  acquaintances. 
As  they  endeavored  to  turn  their  backs 
upon  them  they  were  at  once  surround- 
ed by  the  whole  band,  crying  and  ges- 
ticulating, and  opposing  their  departure 
with  a  sort  of  determined  playfulness 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


49 


At  the  same  time  a  word  often  repeated, 
the  word  Htiatmmio ,  began  to  enter  large- 
ly into  their  conversation,  and  piqued 
the  curiosity  of  the  historiographer. 
Marcoy  begged  the  interpreter  to  pro- 
cure him  the  explanation  of  this  perpet- 
ual shibboleth.  Half  by  signs,  half  in 
the  polyglot  jargon  which  he  had  been 
employing  with  the  Siriniris,  Garcia 
managed  to  understand  that  the  word 
in  question  was  the  name  of  their  vil- 
lage, situated  at  a  small  distance  and  in 
a  direction  which  they  indicated.  In 
this  retreat,  they  said,  no  inhabitants  re- 
mained but  women,  children  and  old  men, 
the  rest  of  the  braves  being  absent  on  a 
chase.  They  proposed  a  visit  to  their 
capital,  where  the  strangers,  they  said, 
honored  and  cherished  by  the  tribe, 
might  pass  many  enviable  days. 

The  proposed  excursion,  which  would 
cause  a  loss  of  considerable  time  and  a 
deflection  from  the  intended  route,  was 
declined  in  courteous  terms  by  Marcoy 
through  the  interpretation  of  Pepe  Gar- 
cia. Among  civilized  folk  this  urbane 
refusal  would  have  sufficed,  but  the  sav- 
ages, taking  such  a  reply  as  a  challenge 
to  verbal  warfare,  returned  to  the  charge 
with  increased  tenacity.  It  were  hard 
to  say  what  natural  logic  they  put  in 
practice  or  what  sylvan  persuasions  they 
wrought  by,  but  their  peculiar  mode  of 
stroking  the  white  men's  backs  with  their 
hands,  and  the  softer  and  still  softer  in- 
flections which  they  introduced  into  their 
voices,  would  have  melted  hearts  of 
marble.  In  brief,  the  civilized  portion 
adopted  the  more  weakly  part  and  allow- 
ed themselves  to  be  led  by  the  savage 
portion. 

The  colonel  and  Pepe  Garcia  were  still 
more  easily  persuaded  than  Mr.  Marcoy, 
and  only  awaited  his  adhesion.  When 
it  was  finally  announced  the  Siriniris  re- 
newed their  gambols  and  uttered  shouts 
of  delight.  They  then  took  the  head  of 
the  excursion.  A  singularity  in  their 
guides,  which  quickly  attracted  the  no- 
tice of  the  explorers,  was  the  perfect  in- 
difference with  which  they  took  either 
the  clearings  or  the  thickets  in  their  path. 
Where  the  strangers  were  afraid  of  tear- 
ing their  garments,  these  unprotected 
4 


savages  had  no  care  whatever  for  their 
skins.  It  is  true  that  their  ingenuity  in 
gliding  through  the  labyrinth  resembled 
magic.  However  the  forest  might  bristle 
with  undergrowth,  they  never  thought 
of  breaking  down  obstacles  or  of  cutting 
them,  as  the  equally  practiced  Bolivians 
did,  with  a  knife.  They  contented  them- 
selves with  putting  aside  with  one  hand 
the  tufts  of  foliage  as  if  they  had  been 
curtains  or  draperies,  and  that  with  an 
easy  decision  of  gesture  and  an  elegance 
of  attitude  which  are  hardly  found  out- 
side of  certain  natural  tribes. 

The  city  of  Huatinmio  proved  to  be 
a  group  of  seven  large  sheds  perched 
among  plaintains  and  bananas,  divided 
into  stalls,  and  affording  shelter  for  a 
hundred  individuals.  The  most  sordid 
destitution — if  ignorance  of  comfort  can 
be  called  destitution  —  reigned  every- 
where around.  The  women  were  espe- 
cially hideous,  and  on  receipt  of  presents 
of  small  bells  and  large  needles  becante 
additionally  disagreeable  in  their  antics 
of  gratitude.  The  bells  were  quickly  in- 
serted in  their  ears,  and  soon  the  whole 
village  was  in  tintinnabulation. 

A  night  was  passed  in  the  hospitality 
of  these  barbarians,  who  vacated  their 
largest  cabin  for  their  guests.  A  repast 
was  served,  consisting  of  stewed  monkey: 
no  salt  was  used  in  the  cookery,  but  on 
the  other  hand  a  dose  of  pimento  was 
thrown  in,  which  brought  tears  to  the 
I  eyes  of  the  strangers  and  made  them 
run  to  the  water-jar  as  if  to  save  their 
lives.  The  evening  was  spent  in  a  gen- 
eral conversation  with  the  Siriniris,  who 
were  completely  mystified  by  the  form 
and  properties  of  a  candle  which  Mr. 
Marcoy  drew  from  his  baggage  and  ig- 
nited. The  wild  men  passed  it  from 
hand  to  hand,  examining  it,  and  singeing 
themselves  in  turn.  Still  another  marvel 
was  the  sheet  of  paper  on  which  the 
artist  essayed  a  portrait  of  one  of  his 
hosts.  The  finished  sketch  did  not  ap- 
pear to  attract  them  at  all,  or  to  raise 
in  their  minds  the  faintest  association 
with  the  human  form,  but  the  texture 
and  whiteness  of  the  sheet  excited  their 
lively  admiration,  and  they  passed  it  from 
one  to  another  with  many  exclamations 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


of  wonder.  Meantime,  a  number  of 
questions  were  suggested  and  proposed 
through  the  interpreter. 

The  formahty  of  marriage  among  the 
Siriniris  was  found  to  be  quite  unknown  ; 
the  most  rudimentary  idea  of  divine  wor- 
ship could  not  be  discovered  ;  the  treat- 
ment of  the  aged  was  shown  to  be  con- 
temptuous and  neglectful  in  the  extreme  ; 
and  the  lines  of  demarcation  with  the 
beasts  seemed  to  be  but  feebly  traced. 
Finally,  Mr.  Marcoy  begged  the  inter- 
preter to  propound  the  delicate  inquiry 
whether,  among  the  viands  with  which 
they  nourished  or  had  formerly  nourish- 
ed themselves,  human  flesh  had  found 
a  place.  Garcia  hesitated,  and  at  first 
declined  to  push  the  interrogation,  but 
after  some  persuasion  consented.  The 
Siriniris  were  not  in  the  least  shocked  at 
the  question,  and  answered  that  the  flesh 
of  man,  especially  in  infancy,  was  a  de- 
licious food,  far  better  than  the  monkey, 
the  tapir  or  the  peccary ;  that  their  na- 
tion, in  the  days  of  its  power,  frequently 
used  it  at  the  great  feasts ;  but  that  the 
difficulty  of  procuring  such  a  rarity  had 
increased  until  they  were  now  forced  to 
strike  it  from  their  bill  of  fare. 

The  night  passed  without  disturbance, 
and  the  next  day's  parting  was  accom- 
panied by  reiterated  requests  for  a  repe- 
tition of  the  visit.  The  Panther,  who 
since  their  arrival  had  oppressed  the 
travelers  with  a  multitude  of  officious  at- 
tentions, escorted  them  into  the  woods, 
and  there  took  leave  of  them  with  a  ges- 
ture of  his  hand,  relieving  their  eyes  of 
his  slippery,  snake-like  robe  of  spots.  A 
knife  from  their  stores,  slung  round  his 
neck  like  a  locket,  smote  his  breast  at 
each  step  as  he  danced  backward,  and 
a  couple  of  large  fish-hooks  glanced  in 
his  ears. 

With  a  feeling  of  relief  and  satisfied 
curiosity  the  exploring  party  left  behind 
them  the  traces  of  these  children  of  Na- 
ture, and  returned  toward  the  river. 
The  cascarilleros,  all  for  their  business, 
had  regretted  the  waste  of  time,  and  now 
betook  themselves  to  an  examination  of 
the  woods  with  all  their  energy.  After 
several  hours  of  march  their  efforts  were 
crowned  with  success.     Eusebio  present- 


ly rejoined  his  employers,  showing  leaves 
and  berries  of  the  Cinchona  scrobiailaia 
dind  pubescens :  the  peons,  on  their  side, 
had  discovered  isolated  specimens  of 
the  Calisaya,  which,  joined  with  those 
found  on  Mount  Camanti,  indicated  an 
extended  belt  of  that  precious  species. 
This  was  not  the  best.  A  veritable  treas- 
ure which  they  had  unearthed,  worth  all 
the  others  put  together,  was  a  line  of 
those  violet  cinchonas  which  the  native 
exporters  call  Cascarilla  morada,  and 
the  botanists  Cinchona  Boliviana.  The 
trees  of  this  kind  were  grouped  in  threes 
and  fours,  and  extended  for  half  a  mile. 
This  repeated  proof  that  the  most  val- 
uable of  all  the  cinchonas,  together  with 
nearly  every  one  of  the  others,  were  to 
be  discovered  in  a  small  radius  along 
the  valley  of  the  Cconi,  filled  the  explo- 
rers with  triumph,  and  demonstrated  be- 
yond a  doubt  the  sagacity  of  Don  Santo 
Domingo  in  organizing  the  expedition. 

The  purpose  and  intention  of  the  jour- 
ney was  now  abundantly  fulfilled.  Had 
the  travelers  rested  satisfied  with  the 
liberal  indications  they  had  found,  and 
consented  to  place  themselves  between 
the  haunts  of  the  savages  and  the  abodes 
of  civilization,  with  a  tendency  and  de- 
termination toward  the  latter,  they  might 
have  returned  with  safety  as  with  glory. 
The  estimate  made  by  Eusebio,  how- 
ever, of  the  trend  or  direction  of  the 
calisaya  groves,  induced  him  to  forsake 
the  bed  of  the  Cconi,  and  strike  south- 
eastwardly,  so  as  to  cross  the  Ollachea 
and  the  Ayapata. 

"  But  the  mountains  are  disappearing," 
hazarded  Mr.  Marcoy.  "Will  not  tlie 
cinchonas  disappear  with  them  ?" 

"Oh,"  answered  the  majordomo,  like 
a  pedagogue  to  a  confident  school-boy, 
"  the  senor  knows  better  how  to  put  ink 
or  color  on  a  sheet  of  paper  than  how  to 
judge  of  these  things.  The  plain,  the 
campo  llano,  is  far  enough  to  the  east. 
Before  we  should  see  the  disappearance 
of  the  mountains,  we  should  have  to 
cross  as  many  hills  and  ravines  as  we 
have  left  behind  us." 

"What  do  you  think  of  doing,  then ?" 
naturally  demanded  Marcoy,  who  had 
long  since  begun  to  feel  that  the  expedi- 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU 


51 


tion  had  but  one  chief,  and  that  was  the 
sepia-colored  cascanllero  from  BoUvia. 

"Everything  and  nothing,"  answered 
Eiisebio. 

These  enigmas  always  carry  the  day. 
The  apparatus  of  march  was  once  more 
set  in  motion  toward  the  adjacent  water- 
sheds. After  a  considerable  journey — 
rewarded,  it  must  be  said,  with  a  succes- 
sion of  cinchona  discoveries — they  halt- 
ed near  a  clearing  in  the  forest,  where 
large  heaps  of  stones  and  pebbles,  ar- 
ranged in  semicircles,  attracted  their  at- 
tention. The  cascarilleros  explained  this 
appearance  as  due  to  former  arrange- 
ments for  gold-washing  in  an  old  river- 
bed, the  San  Gavan  or  the  Ayapata, 
that  had  now  changed  its  locality. 

While  examining  the  unusual  appear- 
ance an  abominable  clamor  burst  from 
the  woods  around,  and  a  band  of  Siriniris 
appeared,  led  by  a  lusty  ruffian  crowned 
with  oriole  feathers,  whom  the  travelers 
recognized  as  having  been  among  their 
previous  acquaintances. 

The  encounter  was  very  disagreeable, 
but  the  strangers  determined  to  make 
the  best  of  it.  The  manner  of  this  band 
of  Indians  was  somewhat  different  from 
that  of  the  others.  They  brought  noth- 
ing for  barter,  and  had  an  indescribably 
coarse  and  hardy  style  of  behavior. 

The  travelers  determined  to  buy  a 
little  information,  if  nothing  better,  with 
their  knives  and  fish-hooks.  Garcia  was 
accordingly  instructed  to  demand  the 
meaning  of  the  heaps  and  causeways  of 
stones.  The  savages  laughed  at  first, 
but  finally  informed  the  visitors  that  the 
constructions  which  puzzled  them  so  had 
been  made  by  people  of  their  own  race 
many  years  ago,  for  the  purpose  of  gath- 
ering gold  from  the  river  which  used  to 
run  along  there,  but  which  now  flowed 
seven  miles  off. 

This  information  was  dear  to  the  his- 
toric instinct  of  Marcoy.  He  spoke,  by 
his  usual  proxy,  to  the  Indian  of  the 
oriole,  commanding  him  not  to  begin 
every  explanation  by  laughing,  as  he 
had  been  doing,  but  to  answer  intelli- 
gently, promising  a  reward  of  several 
knives.  The  savage  exchanged  a  rapid 
glance  with  his  fellows,  and  then  he  and 


they  stood  up  as  stiff  and  mute  as  the 
trees.  Marcoy  then  asked  him  if  he  had 
never  heard  his  father  or  his  grandfather 
speak  of  the  great  city  of  San  Gavan, 
built  hereabouts  formerly  by  the  Spanish 
chevaliers,  and  which  the  Caranga  and 
Suchimani  Indians  from  the  Inambari 
River  had  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  evident  recognition  of  this  legend 
by  the  savages,  and  their  rapid  exchange 
among  themselves  of  the  words  sacapa 
huayris  Ipanos,  induced  Marcoy  to  ask 
if  they  could  guide  them  to  the  site  of 
the  former  city.  They  answered  that  a 
day's  march  would  be  sufficient,  and 
pointed  with  their  arms  in  the  direction 
of  north-north-west. 

The  temptation  to  see  the  place  whose 
golden  renown,  after  having  made  the 
tour  of  the  American  continent,  had 
reached  Spain  and  the  world  at  large, 
was  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  Colonel 
Perez,  besides  the  magic  attraction  which 
the  mention  of  gold  had  for  him,  felt  his 
national  pride  touched  by  the  idea  of  a 
place  where  his  compatriots  had  added 
such  magnificence  to  the  Spanish  name, 
and  gained  so  many  ingots  of  gold  by 
paddling  in  the  streams.  The  cascari- 
lleros were  delighted  to  extend  their  jour- 
ney, in  hopes  of  yet  larger  discoveries. 
As  for  the  porters,  since  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  savages  they  clung  to  the 
party  with  as  much  anxiety  as  they  had 
ever  shown  to  escape  from  it. 

In  1767  the  city  of  San  Gavan,  re- 
maining intact  amid  the  ruin  of  all  its 
neighbors,  was  the  sole  disburser  of  the 
riches  of  the  Caravaya  Valley.  The 
gold-dust,  collected  throughout  the  whole 
territory  on  a  government  monopoly,  was 
brought  thither  upon  the  backs  of  In- 
dians, melted  into  ingots,  and  distributed 
to  Lima  and  the  world  at  large.  On  the 
night  of  the  15th  and  i6th  of  December 
in  that  year  the  wealthy  city  was  fired  by 
the  Carangas  and  the  Suchimanis,  and 
all  the  inhabitants  slain  with  arrows  or 
clubs.  The  first  lords  of  the  soil  had  re- 
sumed their  rights. 

When  the  news  of  the  event  was 
brought  to  Lima,  the  viceroy  of  the  pe- 
riod, Antonio  Amat,  swore  on  a  piece  of 
the  true  cross  to  exterminate  every  In- 


52 


SEARCHING   FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


dian  in  Peru.  It  is  to  the  persuasions  of 
his  favorite,  Mariquita  Gallegas,  that  the 
preservation  of  the  native  tribes  from  a 
bloody  extirpation  is  due.  This  woman, 
La  Perichola,  whose  caricatured  hkeness 
we  see  in  the  most  agreeable  of  Offen- 
bach's operas,  and  whose  deeds  of  mercy 
and  edifying  end  in  a  con- 
vent entitle  her  to  some 
charitable  consideration, 
persuaded  her  royal  lover  to 
operate  on  the  natives  with 
missionaries  and  teachers 
rather  than  with  fire  and 
sword.  Antonio  Amat 
yielded,  and  the  Indians 
have  survived. 

Let  no  traveler  go  to 
South  America  and  cross 
the  Andes  with  the  idea  of 
unearthing  a  Nineveh  or  a 
Babylon  on  the  site  of  San 
Gavan.  The  emissaries  of 
Don  Santo  Domingo  were 
quickly  standing,  among 
the  grinning  and  amused 
Indians,  on  the  locality  of 
the  Golden  Depot  of  San 
Gavan.  But  Nature  had 
thoroughly  reclaimed  her 
own,  and  the  place,  indi- 
cated again  and  again  by 
the  savages  with  absolute 
unanimity,  showed  noth- 
ing but  mounds  of  fern 
and  moss  under  canopies 
of  forest  trees. 

A  day's  rest  and  a  sketch 
or  two  were  consecrated  by 
M  a  r  c  o  y  to  this  historic 
spot,  the  grave  of  a  civil- 
ization. It  had  been  well 
if  he    had    restrained   his 


the  scene,  rushing  up  to  the  travelers, 
straining  them  repeatedly  in  a  rude  em- 
brace, then  leaving  them,  then  assault- 
ing them  again,  and  accompanying 
every  contact  with  the  eternal  cry,  Siruta 
inta  menea — "Give  me  a  knife."  Each 
member  of  the  troop  had  now  six  sav- 


feelings   of  romance,  and 

betaken  himself  with  his  companions  to 

the  homeward  track. 

As  the  explorers  were  breakfasting  in 
the  morning  on  a  squirrel  and  a  couple 
of  birds  shot  among  the  vanished  streets 
of  San  Gavan,  a  disagreeable  incident 
supervened.  The  wild  Indians  had  dis- 
appeared over-night.  But  now,  seem- 
ingly born  instantaneously  from  the 
trees,  a  throng   of  Siriniris  burst  upon 


ANOTHER   SAVAGE   HAD   FOUND  A   FAIR   OF   LINEN 
PANTALOONS." — P.  53. 


ages  at  his  heels,  and  they  were  not 
those  of  the  day  before,  but  a  new  and 
rougher  band.  The  chiefs  of  the  party 
rushed  together  and  brandished  their 
muskets.  This  forced  the  savages  to  re- 
tire, but  gave  to  the  rencounter  that  hos- 
tile air  which,  in  consideration  of  the 
disparity  of  numbers,  ought  at  all  haz- 
ards to  have  been  avoided.  The  wild 
men  quickly  formed  a  circle  around  the 


SEARCHING  FOR    THE    QUININE-PLANT  IN  PERU. 


53 


artillery.  The  latter,  fearing  for  their  por- 
ters and  the  precious  baggage,  leaped 
through  this  circle  and  joined  their  ser- 
vants, making  believe  to  cock  their  fire- 
arms. Upon  this  the  Indians,  half 
afraid  of  the  guns,  vanished  into  the 
woods,  first  picking  up  whatever  clothing 
and  utensils  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on.  In  an  instant  they  were  showing 
these  trophies  to  their  rightful  owners 
from  a  safe  distance,  laughing  as  if  they 
would  split  their  sides.  One  of  the 
naked  rascals  had  seized  a  flannel  un- 
dershirt of  the  colonel's,  which  was  dr>'- 
ing  on  a  branch.  His  efforts  to  intro- 
duce his  great  feet  into  the  sleeves  were 
excruciating.  Another  savage  had  found 
a  pair  of  hnen  pantaloons,  which  he  was 
endeavoring  to  put  on  like  a  coat,  ap- 
pearing much  embarrassed  with  the  pos- 
terior portion,  which  completely  masked 
his  face.  Aragon  had  seen  a  young 
reprobate  of  his  own  age  make  off  with 
a  pair  of  socks  of  his  property.  Detect- 
ing the  rogue  half  hidden  by  a  tree,  the 
mozo  made  a  sortie,  seized  the  Indian, 
and  by  a  violent  shake  brought  the 
property  out  of  his  mouth,  where  it  had 
been  concealed  as  in  a  natural  pocket. 

The  travelers  immediately  threw  them- 
selves into  marching  order  and  took  up 
their  line  of  route.  The  savages  fol- 
lowed. At  the  first  obstacle,  a  mass  of 
matted  trees,  they  easily  rejoined  the 
party  of  whites. 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  the  idea  of 
their  power  seemed  to  strike  them,  and 
they  precipitated  themselves  upon  the 
porters,  who  took  to  flight,  rolling  from 
under  their  packs  like  animals  of  burden. 
In  a  moment  every  article  of  baggage, 
every  knife  and  weapon,  was  seized,  and 
the  red-skins,  singing  and  howling,  were 
making  off  through  the  woods.  Among 
them  was  now  seen  the  Siriniri  with 
orioles'  feathers,  who  must  have  guided 
them  to  their  prey. 

The  expedition  was  pillaged,  and  pil- 
laged as  a  joke.  The  thieves  were  heard 
laughing  as  they  scampered  off  like  deer 
through  the  woods. 

It  was  hard  to  realize  at  once  the  gravity 
of  the  misfortune.  No  one  was  hurt,  no 
one  was  insulted.     But  provisions,  cloth- 


ing, articles  of  exchange  and  weapons 
were  all  gone,  except  such  arms  and 
ammunition  as  the  travelers  carried  on 
their  persons.     A  collection  of  cinchonas 
was  in  possession  of  one  of  the  Bolivians, 
though  it  represented  but  a  fraction  of 
the  species  discovered.     The  besiegers, 
however,  had  disappeared,  and  a  west- 
erly march  was  taken  up.     Good  time 
was  made  that  day,  and  a  heavy  night's 
sleep  was  the  consequence.     With  the 
morning  light  came  the  well-remember- 
ed and  hateful  cry,  and  the  little  army 
found  itself  surrounded  by  a  throng  of 
merry  naked  demons,  among  whom  were 
some  who  had  not  profited  by  the  dis- 
tribution of  the   spoils.     At  the  magic 
word  sirnta  all  these  new-comers  rushed 
in  a  mass  upon  the  white  men.     Marcoy 
managed  to  slip  his  fine  ivory-handled 
machete  within  his  trowser  leg,  but  every 
other  cutting  tool  disappeared  as  if  by 
magic  from  the  possession  of  the  ex- 
plorers.    The  shooting-utensils  the  sav- 
ages, believing  them  haunted,  would  not 
touch.     Then,  half  irritated  at  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  booty,  the  amiable  chil- 
dren of  Nature  burst  out  into  open  de- 
rision.    The  artists  of  the  tribe,  filling 
their  palms  with  rocoa,  and  moistening 
the  same  with  saliva,  went  up  to  their 
late  patrons  and  began  to  decorate  their 
faces.     The  latter,  judging  patience  their 
best  policy,  sat  in  silence  while  the  deli- 
cate fancy  of  the  savages  expended  itself 
in  arabesques  and  flourishes.     Perez  and 
Aragon  had  their  eyes  surrounded  with 
red   spectacles.     The   face   of  Marcoy, 
covered  with  a  heavy  beard,  only  allow- 
ed room  for  a  "W"  on  the  forehead, 
and  Pepe  Garcia  was  quit  for  a  set  of 
interlacings  like  a  checkerboard.     Hav- 
ing thus  signed  their  marks  upon  their 
visitors,  the  aborigines  retired,  catching 
up  here  and  there  a  stray  ball  of  cord 
or  a  strip  of  beef,  saluting  with  the  hand, 
and  vanishing  into  the  woods  with  the 
repeated  compliment,  Efniniki — "  I  am 
off." 

The  victims  rested  motionless  for  fif- 
teen minutes  :  then  pellmell,  through  the 
thickest  of  the  brush  and  down  the  steep- 
est of  the  hill,  blotted  out  under  gigantic 
ferns  and  covered  by  umbrageous  vines, 


54 


THE   SITE  AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


stealing  along  water-courses  and  skirting 
the  sides  of  the  mountains,  they  rushed 
precipitately  westward. 

Two  months  after  the  priest  of  Marca- 
pata  had  dismissed  with  his  benediction 
the  party  of  confident  and  enthusiastic 
explorers,  he  received  again  his  strayed 
flock,  but  this  time  in  rags,  armed  with 
ammunitionless  guns  and  one  poor  knife, 
wasted  by  hunger,  baked  by  the  sun,  and 
tattooed  like  Polynesians  by  the  briers 
and  insects.  The  good  man  could  not 
repress  a  tear.  "Ah,  my  son,"  said  he 
as  he  clasped  Marcoy's  hand,  "see  what 
it  costs  to  go  hunting  the  cascarilla  in 
the  laud  of  the  infidels  !" 

The  explorations  started  by  Don  Juan 
Sanz  de  Santo  Domingo  came  to  prof- 
itable result,  but  not  to  his  advantage. 
Three  weeks  after  the  pioneers  arrived 
again  in  Cuzco,  Don  Juan  started  an- 
other expedition,  on  a  much  larger  scale, 
to  accomplish  the  working  of  the  cin- 
chona valleys,  under  charge  of  the  same 
Bolivians,  who  could  make  like  a  bee 
for  every  tree  they  had  discovered.  A 
detachment  of  soldiers  was  to  protect 
the  party,  and  the   working  force  was 


more  than  double.  Finally,  the  night 
before  the  intended  stait,  the  Bolivian 
cascarilleros,  with  their  examinador,  dis- 
appeared together.  It  is  probable  that 
Don  Juan's  scheme,  nursed,  according 
to  custom,  with  too  much  publicity,  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  merchants 
of  Cuzco,  who  had  found  it  profitable  to 
buy  off  the  bark-searchers  for  their  own 
interest. 

The  crash  of  this  immense  enterprise 
was  too  much  for  Don  Juan.  Threaten- 
ed with  creditors,  Jews,  escribanos  and 
the  police,  he  retired  to  a  silver-mine  he 
was  opening  in  the  province  of  Abancay. 
This  mine,  in  successful  operation,  he 
depended  on  for  satisfying  his  creditors. 
He  found  it  choked  up,  destroyed  with 
a  blast  of  powder  by  some  enemy.  Un- 
able to  bear  the  disappointment,  Don 
Juan  blew  out  his  brains  in  the  office 
belonging  to  his  mine.  A  month  after- 
ward, Don  Eugenio  Mendoza  y  Jara,  the 
bishop  of  Cuzco,  sent  a  couple  of  In- 
dians for  the  body,  with  instructions  to 
throw  it  into  a  ditch  :  the  men  attached 
a  rope  to  the  feet  and  dragged  it  to  a 
ravine,  where  dogs  and  vultures  disposed 
of  the  unhallowed  remains. 


A  GLANCE  AT  THE   SITE  AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


THE  day  is  a  happy  one  to  the  student- 
traveler  from  the  Western  World  in 
which  he  first  looks  upon  the  lovely  plain 
of  Athens.  Rounding  the  point  where 
Hymettus  thrusts  his  huge  length  into 
the  sea,  the  long,  featureless  mountain- 
wall  of  Southern  Attica  suddenly  breaks 
down,  and  gives  place  to  a  broad  ex- 
panse of  fertile  and  well-cultivated  soil, 
sloping  gently  back  with  ever-narrowing 
bounds  until  it  reaches  the  foot-hills  of 
lofty  Pentelicus.  The  wooded  heights 
of  Parnes  enclose  it  on  the  north,  while 
bald  Hymettus  rears  an  impassable  bar- 
rier along  the  south.  In  front  of  the 
gently  recurved  shore  stretch  the  smooth 


waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Salamis,  while  be- 
yond rises  range  upon  range  of  lofty 
mountain-peaks  with  strikingly  varied 
outline,  terminating  on  the  one  hand  in 
the  towering  cone  of  Egina,  and  on  the 
other  in  the  pyramidal,  fir-clad  summit 
of  CithEeron.  Upon  the  plain,  at  the 
distance  of  three  or  four  miles  from  the 
sea,  are  several  small  rocky  hills  of  pic- 
turesque appearance,  isolated  and  seem- 
ingly independent,  but  really  parts  of  a 
low  range  parallel  to  Hymettus.  Upon 
one  of  the  most  considerable  of  these, 
whose  precipitous  sides  make  it  a  natural 
fortress,  stood  the  Acropolis,  and  upon 
the  group  of  lesser  heights  around  and 


THE  SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


55 


in    the   valleys    between   clustered  the 
dwellings  of  ancient  Athens. 

It  was  a  fitting  site  for  the  capital  of  a 
people  keenly  sensitive  to  beauty,  and 
destined  to  become  the  leaders  of  the 


world  in  matters  of  taste,  especially  in 
the  important  department  of  the  Fine 
Arts.  Nowhere  are  there  more  charm- 
ing contrasts  of  mountain,  sea  and  plain 
— nowhere  a  more  perfect  harmony  of 

""IB 


picturesque  eti'ect.  Ihe  sea  is  not  a 
dreary  waste  of  waters  without  bounds, 
but  a  smiling  gulf  mirroring  its  moun- 
tain-walls and  winding  about  embosomed 
isles,  yet  ever  broadening  as  it  recedes, 
and  suggesting  the  mighty  flood  beyond 


iillllik;::,,::;.,,.,.:,. 
from  which  it  springs.  The  plain  is  not 
an  illimitable  expanse  over  which  the 
weary  eye  ranges  in  vain  in  quest  of 
some  resting-place,  but  is  so  small  as  to 
be  embraced  in  its  whole  contour  in  a 
single  view,  while  its  separate  features — 


56 


THE  SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


the  broad,  dense  belt  of  olives  which 
marks  the  bed  of  its  principal  stream, 
the  ancient  Cephissus,  the  vineyards,  the 
grain-fields  and  the  sunny  hillside  pas- 
tures— are  made  to  produce  their  full  im- 
pression. The  mountains  are  not  near 
enough  to  be  obtrusive,  much  less  op- 
pressive ;  neither  are  they  so  distant  as 
to  be  indistinct  or  to  seem  insignificant. 
Seen  through  the  clear  air,  their  naked 
summits  are  so  sharply  defined  and  so 
individual  in  appearance  as  to  seem  al- 
most like  sculptured  forms  chiseled  out 
of  the  hard  rock. 

The  city  which  rose  upon  this  favor- 
ed spot  was  worthy  of  its  surroundings. 
The  home  of  a  free  and  enterprising  race 
endowed  with  rare  gifts  of  intellect  and 
sensibility,  and  ever  on  the  alert  for  im- 
provement, it  became  the  nurse  of  letters 
and  of  arts,  while  the  luxury  begotten  of 
prosperity  awakened  a  taste  for  adorn- 
ment, and  the  wealth  acquired  by  an  ex- 
tended commerce  furnished  the  means 
of  gratifying  it.  The  age  of  Pericles 
was  the  period  of  the  highest  national 
development.  At  that  time  were  reared 
the  celebrated  structures  in  honor  of  the 
virgin-goddess  who  was  the  patron  of 
Athens — the  Parthenon,  the  Propylaea, 
the  Erechtheum  —  which  crowned  the 
Acropolis,  and  were  the  glory  of  the  city 
as  they  were  the  masterpieces  of  Grecian 
architecture.  During  the  preceding  half 
century  many  works  of  utility  and  of 
splendor  had  been  constructed,  and  the 
city  now  became  renowned  not  only  in 
Greece,  but  throughout  the  ancient  world, 
for  the  magnificence  of  its  public  build- 
ings. Thucydides,  writing  about  this 
time,  says  that  should  Athens  be  destroy- 
ed, posterity  would  infer  from  its  ruins 
that  the  city  had  been  twice  as  populous 
as  it  actually  was.  Demosthenes  speaks 
of  the  strangers  who  came  to  visit  its 
attractions.  But  the  changes  of  twenty- 
three  centuries  have  passed  upon  this 
splendor — a  sad  story  of  violence  and 
neglect — and  the  queenly  city  has  long 
been  in  the  condition  of  ruin  imagined  by 
Thucydides.  Still,  the  spell  of  her  influ- 
ence is  not  broken,  and  the  charm  which 
once  drew  so  many  visitors  to  her  shrines 
*till  acts  powerfully  on  the  hearts  of  schol- 


ars in  all  lands,  who,  having  looked  up  to 
her  poets,  orators  and  philosophers  as 
teachers  and  loved  them  as  friends,  long 
to  visit  their  haunts,  to  stand  where  they 
stood,  to  behold  the  scenes  which  they 
were  wont  to  view,  and  to  gaze  upon 
what  may  remain  of  the  great  works  of 
art  upon  which  their  admiration  was 
bestowed. 

So  the  student-pilgrim  from  the  West- 
ern World  with  native  ardor  strains  his 
sight  to  catch  the  first  gUmpse  of  the 
Athenian  plain  and  city.  He  is  fresh 
from  his  studies,  and  familiar  with  what 
books  teach  of  the  geography  of  Greece 
and  the  topography  of  Athens.  He 
needs  not  to  be  informed  which  moun- 
tain-range is  Parnes,  and  which  Penteli- 
cus — which  island  is  Salamis,  and  which 
Egina.  Yet  much  of  what  he  sees  is  a 
revelation  to  him.  The  mountains  are 
higher,  more  varied  and  more  beautiful 
than  he  had  supposed,  Lycabettus  and 
the  Acropolis  more  imposing,  Pentelicus 
farther  away,  and  the  plain  larger,  the 
gulf  narrower,  and  Egina  nearer  and 
more  mountainous,  than  he  had  fancied. 
He  is  astonished  at  the  smallness  of  the 
harbor  at  Peiraeus,  having  insensibly 
formed  his  conception  of  its  size  from 
the  notices  of  the  mighty  fleets  which 
sailed  from  it  in  the  palmy  days  when 
Athens  was  mistress  of  the  seas.  He  is 
not  prepared  to  see  the  southern  shore  of 
Salamis  so  near  to  the  Peiraeus,  though 
it  explains  the  close  connection  between 
that  island  and  Athens,  and  throws  some 
light  upon  the  great  naval  defeat  of  the 
Persians.  In  short,  while  every  object 
is  recognized  as  it  presents  itself,  yet 
a  more  correct  conception  is  formed  of 
its  relative  position  and  aspect  from  a 
single  glance  of  the  eye  than  had  been 
acquired  from  books  during  years  of 
study. 

Arrived  at  the  city,  his  experience  is 
the  same.  He  needs  no  guide  to  con- 
duct him  to  its  antiquities,  nor  cicerone 
to  explain  in  bad  French  or  worse  Eng- 
lish their  names  and  history.  Still, 
unexpected  appearances  present  them- 
selves not  unfrequently.  Hastening  to- 
ward the  Acropolis,  he  will  first  inspect 
the  remains  of  the  great  theatre  of  Dio- 


THE   SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


57 


nysus,  so  familiar  to  him  as  the  place 
where,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people 
and  many  strangers,  were  acted  the  plays 
of  his  favorite  poets,  Eschylus  and  Soph- 
ocles, and  where  they  won  many  prizes. 
Hurrying  over  the  eastern  brow  of  the 
hill,  he  comes  suddenly  upon  the  spot, 
enters  at  the  summit,  as  many  an  Athe- 
nian did  in  the  olden  time,  and  is  smit- 
ten with  amazement  at  the  first  glance, 


and  led  to  question  whether  this  be  in- 
deed the  site  of  the  ancient  theatre.  He 
finds,  it  is  true,  the  topmost  seats  cut  in 
the  solid  rock,  row  above  row,  stripped 
now  of  their  marble  lining  and  weather- 
worn, but  yet  the  genuine  ancient  seats  of 
the  upper  tier.  These  he  expected  to  find. 
But  whence  are  those  fresh  seats  which 
fill  the  lower  part  of  the  hollow,  arranged 
as  neatly  as  if  intended  for  immediate 


THEATRE   OF   DIONYSUS    (BACCHUS). 


use  ?  and  whence  the  massive  stage  be- 
yond ?  He  bethinks  himself  that  he  has 
heard  of  recent  excavations  under  the 
patronage  of  the  government,  and  closer 
inspection  shows  that  these  are  actually 
the  lower  seats  of  the  theatre  in  the  time 
of  the  emperor  Hadrian,  whose  favorite 
residence  was  Athens,  and  who  did  so 
much  to  embellish  the  city.  The  front 
seats  consist  of  massive  stone  chairs, 
each  inscribed  with  the  name  of  its  oc- 
cupant, generally  the  priestess  of  some 
one  of  the  numerous  gods  worshiped  by 
that  people  so  given  to  idolatry.     In  the 


centre  of  the  second  row  is  an  elevated 
throne  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Ha- 
drian. The  stage  is  seen  to  be  the  an- 
cient Greek  stage  enlarged  to  the  Roman 
size  to  suit  the  demands  of  a  later  style 
of  theatrical  representation. 

After  looking  in  vain  for  the  seat  oc- 
cupied by  the  priestess  of  the  Unknown 
God,  our  traveler  passes  on  and  enters 
with  a  beating  heart  the  charmed  precincts 
of  the  Acropolis  itself.  The  Propyljea, 
which  he  has  been  accustomed  to  re- 
gard too  exclusively  as  a  mere  entrance- 
gate  to  the  glories  beyond,  impresses 


58 


THE   SITE  AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


him  with  its  size  and  grandeur,  and  the 
little  temple  of  Victory  by  its  side  with 
its  elegance.*  But  the  steepness  of  the 
ascent  perplexes  him.  It  seems  imprac- 
ticable for  horses,  yet  he  knows  by  un- 


exceptionable testimony  that  the  Athe- 
nian youth  prided  themselves  upon  driv- 
ing their  matched  steeds  in  the  great 
Panathenaic  procession  which  once  ev- 
ery four  years  wound  up  the  hill,  bearing 


O 


the  sacred  peplus  to  the  temple  of  the 
gfoddess.     A  closer  examination  reveals 

*  The  latter  contains,  among  other  relics  of  a  balus- 
trade which  protected  and  adorned  the  platform  of  the 
temple,  the  exquisitely  graceful  torso  of  Victory  unty- 
ing her  sandals,  of  which  casts  are  to  be  seen  in  most 
of  the  museums  of  Europe 


the  transverse  creases  of  the  pavement 
designed  to  give  a  footing  to  the  beasts, 
as  well  as  the  marks  of  the  chariot- 
wheels.  Nevertheless,  the  ascent  (and 
much  more  the  descent)  must  have  been 
a  perilous  undertaking,  unless  the  teams 


THE   SITE  AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


59 


were  better  broken  than  the  various  ac- 
counts of  chariot-races  furnished  by  the 
poets  would  indicate.  Entering  beneath 
the  great  gate,  a  httle  distance  forward 
to  the  left  may  readily  be  found  the  site 
of  the  colossal  bronze  statue  of  the  war- 
rior-goddess in  complete  armor,  formed 


by  Phidias  out  of  the  spoils  taken  at 
Marathon.  The  square  base,  partly 
sunk  in  the  uneven  rock,  is  as  perfect  as 
if  just  put  in  readiness  to  receive  the 
pedestal  of  that  famous  work.  A  road 
bending  to  the  right  and  slightly  hol- 
lowed out  of  the  rock  leads  to  the  Par- 


VICTORV    UNTYING    HER    SANDALS. 


thenon.  The  outer  platform  which  sus- 
tains this  celebrated  temple  is  partly 
cut  from  the  rock  of  the  hill  and  partly 
built  up  of  common  limestone.  The 
inner  one  of  three  courses,  as  well  as  the 
whole  superstructure,  is  formed  of  Pente- 
lic  marble  of  a  compact  crystalline  struc- 
ture and  of  dazzling  whiteness.     Long 


exposure  has  not  availed  to  destroy  its 
lustre,  but  only  to  soften  its  tone.  The 
visitor,  planting  himself  at  the  western 
front,  is  in  a  position  to  gain  some  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  perfection  of  the  noble 
building.  The  interior  and  central  parts 
suffered  the  principal  injury  from  the 
explosion  of  the  Turkish  powder  maga- 


6o 


THE   SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


rine  in  1687.  The  western  front  remains 
nearly  entire.  It  has  been  despoiled, 
indeed,  of  its  movable  ornaments.  The 
statues  which  filled  the  pediment  are 
gone,  with  the  exception  of  a  fragment 


or  two.  The  sculptured  slabs  have  been 
removed  from  the  spaces  between  the 
triglyphs,  and  the  gilded  shields  which 
hung  beneath  have  been  taken  down. 
Of  the  magnificent  frieze,  representing 


the  procession  of  the  great  quadrennial 
festival,  only  the  portion  surrounding 
the  western  vestibule  is  still  in  place.* 

*  Among  the  figures  of  this  bas-relief,  twelve  are 
recognized  by  their  lofty  stature  and  sitting  posture 
as  those  of  divinities.  One  group  is  represented  in 
the  engraving. 


Still,  as  these  were  strictly  decorations, 
and  wholly  subordinate  to  the  organic 
parts  of  the  structure,  their  presence, 
while  it  would  doubtless  greatly  enhance 
the  effect  of  the  whole,  is  not  felt  to  be 
essential  to  its  completenes:;>.    The  whole 


THE   SITE   AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


61 


Doric  columns  still  bear  the  massive  en- 
tablature sheltered  by  the  covering  roof. 
The  simple  greatness  of  the  conception, 
the  just  proportion  of  the  several  parts, 
together  with  the  elaborate  finishing  of 


the  whole  work,  invest  it  with  a  charm 
such  as  the  works  of  man  seldom  pos- 
sess—  the  pure  and  lasting  pleasure 
which   flows  from  apparent  perfection. 

Entering  the  principal  apartment  of  the 


building,  traces  are  seen  of  the  stucco 
and  pictures  with  which  the  walls  were 
covered  when  it  was  fitted  up  as  a  Chris- 
tian church  in  the  Byzantine  period. 
Near  the  centre  of  the  marble  pavement 
is  a  rectangular  space  laid  with  dark 


stone  from  the  Peirasus  or  from  Eleusis. 
It  marks  the  probable  site  of  the  colos- 
sal precious  statue  of  the  goddess  in  gold 
and  \\ovj — one  of  the  most  celebrated 
works  of  Phidias.  The  smaller  apart- 
ment beyond,  accessible  only  from  the 


62 


THE   SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


opposite  front  of  the  temple,  was  used 
by  the  state  as  a  place  of  deposit  and 
safekeeping  for  bullion  and  other  val- 
uables in  the  care  of  the  state  treasurer. 
Having  examined  the  great  temple, 
and  tested  the  curvature  of  its  seeming- 
ly horizontal  lines  by  sighting  along 
the  unencumbered  platform,  and  having 
stopped  at  several  points  of  the  grand 
portico  to  admire  the  fine  views  of  the 
city  and  surrounding  country,  the  trav- 
eler picks  his  way  northward,  across  a 
thick  layer  of  fragments  of  columns, 
statues  and  blocks  of  marble,  toward  the 
low-placed,  irregular  but  elegant  Erech- 
theum,  the  temple  of  the  most  ancient 
worship  and  statue  of  the  patron-goddess 
of  the  city.  This  building  sits  close  by 
the  northern  as  the  Parthenon  does  by 
the  southern  wall  of  the  enclosure.  It 
has  suffered  equally  with  the  other  from 
the  ravages  of  time,  and  its  ruins,  though 
less  grand,  are  more  beautiful.  Most  of 
the  graceful  Ionic  columns  are  still  stand- 
ing, but  large  portions  of  the  roof  and 
entablature  have  fallen.  Fragments  of 
decorated  cornice  strew  the  ground,  some 
of  them  of  considerable  length,  and  af- 
ford a  near  view  of  that  delicate  orna- 
mentation and  exquisite  finish  so  rare 
outside  the  limits  of  Greece.  The  ele- 
vated porch  of  the  Caryatides,  lately  re- 
stored by  the  substitution  of  a  new  figure 
in  place  of  the  missing  statue  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  attracts  attention  as  a 
unique  specimen  of  Greek  art,  and  also 
as  showing  how  far  a  skillful  treatment 
will  overcome  the  inherent  difficulties  of 
a  subject.  The  row  of  fair  maidens  look- 
ing out  toward  the  Parthenon  do  not  seem 
much  oppressed  by  the  burden  which 
rests  upon  them,  while  their  graceful 
forms  lend  a  pleasing  variety  to  the 
scene.  Passing  out  by  the  northern 
wing  of  the  Propylaea,  a  survey  is  had 
of  the  numerous  fragments  of  sculpture 
discovered  among  the  ruins  upon  the 
hill,  and  temporarily  placed  in  the  an- 
cient Pinacotheca.  The  eye  rests  upon 
sweet  infant  faces  and  upon  rugged 
manly  ones.  Sometimes  a  single  fea- 
ture only  remains,  which,  touched  by 
the  finger  of  genius,  awakens  admira- 
tion.    A  naked  arm  severed  from  the 


trunk,  of  feminine  cast,  but  with  muscles 
tightly  strained  and  hand  clenched  as  in 
agony,  will  arrest  attention  and  dwell  in 
the  memory. 

North-west  of  the  Acropolis,  across  a 
narrow  chasm,  lies  the  low,  rocky  height 
of  the  Areopagus,  accessible  at  the  south- 
east angle  by  a  narrow  flight  of  sixteen 
rudely-cut  steps,  which  lead  to  a  small 
rectangular  excavation  on  the  summit, 
which  faces  the  Acropolis,  and  is  sur- 
rounded upon  three  sides  by  a  double 
tier  of  benches  hewn  out  of  the  rock. 
Here  undoubtedly  the  most  venerable 
court  of  justice  at  Athens  had  its  seat 
and  tried  its  cases  in  the  open  air.  Here 
too,  without  doubt,  stood  the  great  apostle 
when,  with  bold  spirit  and  weighty  words, 
he  declared  unto  the  men  of  Athens  that 
God  of  whom  they  confessed  their  igno- 
rance ;  who  was  not  to  be  represented 
by  gold  or  silver  or  stone  graven  by  art 
and  man's  device ;  who  dwelt  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands,  and  needed 
not  to  be  worshiped  with  men's  hands. 
In  no  other  place  can  one  feel  so  sure 
that  he  comes  upon  the  very  footsteps 
of  the  apostle,  and  on  no  other  spot  can 
one  better  appreciate  his  high  gifts  as 
an  orator  or  the  noble  devotion  of  his 
whole  soul  to  the  work  of  the  Master. 
How  poor  in  comparison  with  his  life- 
work  appear  the  performances  of  the 
greatest  of  the  Athenian  thinkers  or 
doers ! 

A  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
west  of  the  Acropolis  is  another  rocky 
hill — the  Pnyx — celebrated  as  the  place 
where  the  assembly  of  all  the  citizens 
met  to  transact  the  business  of  the  state. 
A  large  semicircular  area  was  formed, 
partly  by  excavation,  partly  by  building 
up  from  beneath,  the  bounds  of  which 
can  be  distinctly  traced.  Considerable 
remains  of  the  terrace-wall  at  the  foot 
of  the  slope  exist — huge  stones  twelve 
or  fourteen  feet  in  length  by  eight  or  ten 
in  breadth.  The  chord  of  the  semicircle 
is  near  the  top  of  the  hill,  formed  by  the 
perpendicular  face  of  the  excavated  rock, 
and  is  about  four  hundred  feet  in  length 
by  twenty  in  depth.  Projecting  from  it 
at  the  centre,  and  hewn  out  of  the  same 
rock,  is  the  bema  or  stone  platform  from 


THE  SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


63 


which  the  great  orators  from  the  time  of 
Themistocles  and  Aristides,  and  perhaps 
of  Solon,  down  to  the  age  of  Demos- 
thenes and  the  Attic  Ten,  addressed  the 
mass  of  their  fellow-citizens.      It  is   a 


massive  cubic  block,  with  a  linear  edge 
of  eleven  feet,  standing  upon  a  gradu- 
ated base  of  nearly  equal  height,  and  is 
mounted  on  either  side  by  a  flight  of 
nine  stone  steps.     From  its  connection 


with  the  most  celebrated  efforts  of  some 
of  the  greatest  orators  our  race  has  yet 
seen,  it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
relics  in  the  world,  and  its  solid  structure 
will  cause  it  to  endure  as  long  as  the 
world  itself  shall  stand,  unless,  as  there 


is  some  reason  to  apprehend  will  be  the 
case,  it  is  knocked  to  pieces  and  carried 
off  in  the  carpet-bags  of  travelers.  No 
traces  of  the  Agora,  which  occupied  the 
shallow  valley  between  the  Pnyx  and  the 
Acropolis,  remain.     It  was  the  heart  of 


64 


THE   SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


the  city,  and  was  adorned  with  numer- 
ous public  buildings,  porticoes,  temples 
and  statues.  It  was  often  thronged  with 
citizens  gathered  for  purposes  of  trade, 
discussion,  or  to  hear  and  tell  some  new 
thing. 

Half  a  mile  or  more  to  the  south-east, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ilissus,  stood  a 
magnificent  structure  dedicated  to  Olym- 
pian Zeus — one  of  the  four  largest  tem- 
ples of  Greece,  ranking  with  that  of  De- 
meter  at  Eleusis  and  that  of  Diana  at 
Ephesus.  Its  foundations  remain,  and 
sixteen  of  the  huge  Corinthian  columns 
belonging  to  its  majestic  triple  colon- 
nade. One  of  these  is  fallen.  Break- 
ing up  into  the  numerous  disks  of  which 
it  was  composed — six  and  a  half  feet  in 
diameter  by  two  or  more  in  thickness — 
and  stretching  out  to  a  length  of  over 
sixty  feet,  it  gives  an  impressive  concep- 
tion of  the  size  of  these  columns,  said 
to  be  the  largest  standing  in  Europe. 
The  level  area  of  the  temple  is  now  used 
as  a  training-ground  for  soldiers.  Close 
by,  and  almost  in  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
which  is  dry  the  larger  part  of  the  year, 
issues  from  beneath  a  ledge  of  rock  the 
copious  fountain  of  sweet  waters  known 
to  the  ancients  as  Calirrhoe.  It  furnish- 
ed the  only  good  drinking-water  of  the 
city,  and  was  used  in  all  the  sacrifices  to 
the  gods.  A  little  way  above,  on  the  op- 
posite bank  of  the  Ilissus,  is  the  site  of 
the  Panathenaic  stadium,  whose  shape  is 
perfectly  preserved  in  the  smooth  grass- 
grown  hollow  with  semicircular  extremi- 
ty which  here  lies  at  right  angles  to  the 
stream,  between  parallel  ridges  partly 
artificial. 

Northward  from  the  Acropolis,  on  a 
slight  elevation,  is  the  best-preserved 
and  one  of  the  most  ancient  structures 
of  Athens — the  temple  of  Theseus,  built 
under  the  administration  of  Cimon  by 
the  generation  preceding  Pericles  and 
the  Parthenon.  It  is  of  the  Doric  order, 
and  shaped  like  the  Parthenon,  but  con- 
siderably inferior  to  it  in  size  as  well  as 
in  execution.  It  has  been  roofed  with 
wood  in  modern  times,  and  was  long 
used  as  a  church,  but  is  now  a  place  of 
deposit  for  the  numerous  statues  and 
sculptured    stones    of    various    kinds — 


mostly  sepulchral  monuments — which 
have  been  recently  discovered  in  and 
about  the  city.  They  are  for  the  most 
part  unimportant  as  works  of  art,  though 
many  are  interesting  from  their  antiquity 
or  historic  associations.  Among  these 
is  the  stone  which  once  crowned  the 
burial-mound  on  the  plain  of  Marathon. 
It  bears  a  single  figure,  said  to  represent 
the  messenger  who  brought  the  tidings 
of  victory  to  his  countrymen. 

Near  the  Theseium  was  the  double 
gate  (Dipylum)  in  the  ancient  wall  of 
the  city  whence  issued  the  Sacred  Way 
leading  to  Eleusis,  and  bordered,  like 
the  Appian  Way  at  Rome,  with  tombs, 
many  of  them  cenotaphs  of  persons  who 
died  in  the  public  service  and  were  deem- 
ed worthy  of  a  monument  in  the  public 
burying-ground.  Within  a  few  years  an 
excavation  has  been  made  through  an 
artificial  mound  of  ashes,  pottery  and 
other  refuse  emptied  out  of  the  city,  and 
a  section  of  a  few  rods  of  this  celebrated 
road  has  been  laid  bare.  The  sepul- 
chral monuments  are  ranged  on  one 
side  rather  thickly,  and  crowd  some- 
what closely  upon  the  narrow  pavement. 
They  are,  for  the  most  part,  simple,  thick 
slabs  of  white  marble,  with  a  triangular 
or  pediment-shaped  top,  beneath  which 
is  sculptured  in  low  rehef  the  closing 
scene  of  the  person  commemorated,  fol- 
lowed by  a  short  inscription.  The  work 
is  done  in  an  artistic  style  worthy  of  the 
publicity  its  location  gave  it.  On  one  of 
these  slabs  you  recognize  the  familiar 
full-length  figure  of  Demosthenes,  stand- 
ing with  two  companions  and  clasping 
in  a  parting  grasp  the  hand  of  a  woman, 
who  is  reclining  upon  her  deathbed. 
The  inscription  is,  CoUyrion,  wife  of 
Agathon.  On  another  stone  of  larger 
size  is  a  more  imposing  piece  of  sculp- 
ture." A  horseman  fully  armed  is  thrust- 
ing his  spear  into  the  body  of  his  fallen 
foe — a  hoplite.  The  inscription  relates 
that  the  unhappy  foot -soldier  fell  at 
Corinth  by  reason  of  those  five  words 
of  his! — a  record  intelligible  enough, 
doubtless,  to  his  contemporaries,  but 
sufficiently  obscure  and  provocative  of 
curiosity  to  later  gererations. 

There  are  other  noted  structures  at 


THE   SITE  AND  ANTIQUITIES   OF  ATHENS. 


65 


Athens,  such  as  the  Choragic  Monu- 
ment of  Lysicrates — the  highest  type  of 
the  Corinthian  order  of  architecture,  as 


the  Erechtheum  is  of  the  Ionic  and  the 
Parthenon  of  the  Doric — but  want  of 
space  forbids  any  further  description  of 


MONUMENT    OF    LYSICRATES. 


them.  Let  the  American  traveler  visit 
Athens  with  the  expectation  of  finding  a 
city  occupying  the  most  charming  of 
sites,  and  containing  by  far  the  most  in- 
5 


teresting  and  important  monuments  of 
antiquity,  in  their  original  position,  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  world. 

J.  L.  T.  Phillips. 


THE    ROUMI     IN    KABYLIA. 


PART    FIRST. 


ALGIERS    FROM   THE   SEA. 


A  FACT  need  not  be  a  fixed  fact  to 
be  a  very  positive  one ;  and  Ka- 
bylia,  a  region  to  whose  outline  no  geog- 
rapher could  give  precision,  has  long  ex- 
isted as  the  most  uncomfortable  reahty 
in  colonial  France.  Irreconcilable  Ka- 
bylia,  hovering  as  a  sort  of  thunderous 
cloudland  among  the  peaks  of  the  Atlas 
Mountains,  is  respected  for  a  capacity  it 
has  of  rolling  out  storms  of  desperate 
warriors.  These  troops  disgust  and  con- 
found the  French  by  making  every  hut 
and  house  a  fortress :  like  the  clansmen 
66 


of  Roderick  Dhu,  they  lurk  behind  the 
bushes,  animating  each  tree  or  shrub 
with  a  preposterous  gun  charged  with  a 
badly -moulded  bullet.  The  Kabyle, 
when  excited  to  battle,  goes  to  his  death 
as  carelessly  as  to  his  breakfast :  his 
saint  or  marabout  has  promised  him  an 
immediate  heaven,  without  the  critical 
formality  of  a  judgment-day.  He  fights 
with  more  than  feudal  faithfulness  and 
with  undiverted  tenacity.  He  is  in  his 
nature  unconquerable.  So  that  the 
French,  though  they  have  riddled  this 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


67 


thunder-cloud  of  a  Kabylia  with  their 
shot,  seamed  it  through  and  through 
with  mihtary  roads,  and  estabUshed  a 


beautiful  fort  natiotial  right  in  the  mid- 
dle of  it,  on  the  plateau  of  Souk-el-Arba, 
possess  it  to-day  about  as  thoroughly  as 


"  IMPREGNABLE  KABYLIA 


we  Americans  might  possess  a  desirable 
thunder-storm  which  should  be  observed 
hanging  over  Washington,  and  which 
we  should  annex  by  means  of  electrical 
communications  transpiercing  it  in  every 


direction,  and  a  resident  governor  fixed 
at  the  centre  in  a  balloon.  France  has 
gorged  Kabylia,  with  the  rest  of  Algeria, 
but  she  has  never  digested  it. 

A  trip  through  Algeria,  such   as  we 


68 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


now  propose,  belongs,  as  a  pleasure- 
excursion,  only  to  the  present  age.  In 
the  last  it  was  made  involuntarily.  Only 
sixty  years  ago  the  English  spinster  or 
spectacled  lady's  -  companion,  as  she 
crossed  over  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ta- 
gus  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  or  from 
Marseilles  to  Naples,  looked  out  for  cap- 


ture by  "the  Algerines"  as  quite  a  rea- 
sonable eventuality.  (Who  can  forget 
Topfer's  mad  etchings  for  Bachelor  But- 
terfly, of  which  this  little  episode  forms 
the  incident  ?)  Her  respectable  mind 
was  filled  with  speculations  as  to  how 
many  servants  "a  dey's  lady"  was  fur- 
nished with,  and  what  was  the  amount 


BOUGIE,    AND    HILL    OF   GOURAYA. 


of  her  pin-money.  A  stout,  sound-wind- 
ed Christian  gentleman,  without  vices 
and  kind  in  fetters,  sold  much  cheaper 
than  a  lady,  being  worth  thirty  pounds, 
or  only  about  one-tenth  the  value  of 
Uncle  Tom, 

The  opening  up  of  Algeria  to  the  mod- 
ern tourist  and  Murray's  guide-books  is 
in  fact  due  to  the  American  nation.  So 
late  as  1815  the  Americans,  along  with 
the  other  trading  nations,  were  actually 
paying  to  the  dey  his  preposterous  trib- 
ute for  exemption  from  piratical  seizure. 
In  this  year,  however,  we  changed  our 
mind  and  sent  Decatur  over.  On  the 
28th  of  June  he  made  his  appearance  at 
Algiers,  having  picked  up  and  disposed 
of  some  Algerine  craft,  the  frigate  Ma- 
shouda  and  the  brig  Estido.  The  Al- 
gerines gave  up  all  discussion  with  a 
messenger  so  positive  in  his  manners, 
and  in  two  days  Decatur  introduced  our 
consul-general  Shaler,  who  attended  to 
the  release  of  American  captives  and  the 
positive  stoppage  of  tribute. 

The  example  was  followed  by  other 
nations.  Lord  Exmouth  bombarded  Al- 
giers in  1816,  and  reduced  most  of  it  to 


ashes.  In  1827  the  dey  opened  war 
with  France  by  hitting  the  French  con- 
sul with  his  fan.  Charles  X.  retorted 
upon  the  fan  with  thirty  thousand  troops 
and  a  fleet.  The  fort  of  Algiers  was  ex- 
ploded by  the  last  survivor  of  its  gar- 
rison, a  negro  of  the  deserts,  who  rush- 
ed down  with  a  torch  into  the  powder- 
cellar.  Algeria  collapsed.  The  dey 
went  to  Naples,  the  janizaries  went  to 
Turkey,  and  Algeria  became  French. 

From  this  time  the  country  became 
more  or  less  open,  according  as  France 
could  keep  it  quiet,  to  the  inroads  of  that 
modern  beast  of  ravin,  the  tourist.  The 
Kabyle  calls  the  tourist  Roumi  (Chris- 
tian), a  form,  evidently,  of  our  word 
Roman,  and  referable  to  the  times  when 
the  bishop  of  Hippo  and  such  as  he 
identified  the  Christian  with  the  Roman- 
ist in  the  Moorish  mind. 

Modern  Algiers,  viewed  from  the  sea, 
wears  upon  its  luminous  walls  small 
trace  of  its  long  history  of  blood.  As 
we  contemplate  its  mosques  and  houses 
flashing  their  white  profiles  into  the  sky, 
it  is  impossible  not  to  muse  upon  the 
contrast  between  its  radiant  and  pictu- 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


69 


resque  aspect  and  its  veritable  character 
as  the  accomplice  of  every  crime  and 
every  baseness  known  to  the  Oriental 
mind.  To  see  that  sunny  city  basking 
between  its  green  hills,  you  would  hardly 
think  of  it  as  the  abode  of  bandits  ;  yet 
two  powerful  tribes  still  exist,  now  living 
in  huts  which  crown  the  heights  of 
Boudjareah  overlooking  the  sea,  who 
formerly  furnished  the  boldest  of  the 
pitiless  corsairs.  To  the  iron  hooks  of 
the  Bab  (or  gate)  of  Azoun  were  hung 
by  the  loins  our  Christian  brothers  who 
would  not  accept  the  Koran ;  at  the 
Bab-el-Oued,  the  Arab  rebels,  not  con- 
founded even  in  their  deaths  with  the 
dogs  of  Christians,  were  beheaded  by 
the  yataghan ;  and  in  the  blue  depths 
we  sail  over,  whose  foam  washes  the 
bases  of  the  temples,  hapless  women 
have  sunk  for  ever,  tied  in  a  leather  bag 
between  a  cat  and  a  serpent. 

The  history,  in  truth,  is  the  history — 
always  a  cruel  one — of  an  overridden 
nation  compelled  to  bear  a  part  in  the 
wickedness  of  its  oppressors.  This  ru- 
bric of  blood  may  be  read  in  many  a 
dismal  page.  Algeria  was  a  slave  be- 
fore England  was  Christian.  The  great- 
est African  known  to  the  Church,  Au- 
gustine, has  left  a  pathetic  description 
of  the  conquest  of  his  country  by  the 
Vandals  in  the  fifth  century  :  it  was  at- 
tended with  horrible  atrocities,  the  ene- 
my leaving  the  slain  in  unburied  heaps, 
so  as  to  drive  out  the  garrisons  by  pes- 
tilence. When  Spain  overthrew  the 
Moors  she  took  the  coast-cities  of  Mo- 
rocco and  Algeria.  Afterward,  when 
Aruch  Barbarossa,  the  "  Friend  of  the 
Sea,"  had  seized  the  Algerian  strong- 
holds as  a  prize  for  the  Turks,  and  his 
system  of  piracy  was  devastating  the 
Mediterranean,  Spain  with  other  coun- 
tries suffered,  and  we  have  a  vivid  pic- 
ture of  an  Algerine  bagnio  and  bagnio- 
keeper  from  the  pen  of  the  illustrious 
prisoner  Cervantes.  "  Our  spirits  failed" 
(he  writes)  "in  witnessing  the  unheard- 
of  cruelties  that  Hassan  exercised.  Ev- 
ery day  were  new  punishments,  accom- 
panied with  cries  of  cursing  and  ven- 
geance. Almost  daily  a  captive  was 
thrown  upon  the  hooks,  impaled  or  de- 


prived of  sight,  and  that  without  any 
other  motive  than  to  gratify  the  thirst  of 
human  blood  natural  to  this  monster, 
and  which  inspired  even  the  execution- 
ers with  horror." 

While  our  fancy  traces  the  figure  of 
the  author  of  Don  Quixote,  a  plotting 
captive,  behind  the  walls  of  Algiers,  the 
steamer  is  withdrawing,  and  the  view  of 
the  city  becomes  more  beautiful  at  every 
turn  of  the  paddles.  We  pass  through 
a  whole  squadron  of  fishing-boats,  hov- 
ering on  their  long  lateen  sails,  and 
seeming  like  butterflies  balanced  upon 
the  waves,  which  are  blue  as  the  petal 
of  the  iris.  Algiers  gradually  becomes 
a  mere  impression  of  light.  The  details 
have  been  effaced  little  by  little,  and 
melted  into  a  general  hue  of  gold  and 
warmth  :  the  windowless  houses  and  the 
walls  extending  in  terraces  confuse  in- 
terchangeably their  blank  masses.  The 
dark  green  hills  of  Boudjareah  and  Mus- 
tapha  seem  to  have  opened  their  sombre 
flanks  to  disclose  a  marble-quarry :  the 
city,  piled  up  with  pale  and  blocklike 
forms,  appears  to  sink  into  the  moun- 
tains again  as  the  boat  retires,  although 
the  picturesque  buildings  of  the  Casbah, 
cropping  out  upon  the  summit,  linger 
long  in  sight,  like  rocks  of  lime.  As  we 
pass  Cape  Matifou  we  see  rising  over  its 
shoulder  the  summits  of  the  Atlas  range, 
among  whose  peaks  we  hope  to  be  in  a 
fortnight,  after  passing  Bona,  Philippe- 
ville  and  Constantina. 

Sailing  along  this  coast  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean resembles  an  excursion  on  one 
of  the  Swiss  lakes.  Four  hours  aftei 
passing  Algiers,  in  going  eastwardly  to- 
ward the  port  of  Philippeville,  we  come 
in  sight  of  Dellys,  a  little  town  of  poor 
appearance,  where  the  hussars  of  France 
first  learned  the  peculiarities  of  Kabyle 
fighting.  This  warfare  was  something 
novel.  In  place  of  the  old  gusty  sweeps 
of  cavaliers  on  horseback,  falling  on  the 
French  battalions  or  glancing  around 
them  in  whirlwinds,  the  soldiers  had 
to  extirpate  the  Kabyles  hidden  in  the 
houses.  It  was  not  fighting — it  was  fer- 
reting. Each  house  in  Dellys  was  a  fort 
which  had  to  be  taken  by  siege.  Each 
garden  concealed  behind  its  palings  the 


7° 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


"flower"  of  Kabyle  chivalry,  only  to  be 
uprooted  by  the  bayonet.  The  women 
fought  with  fury. 

We  follow  our  course  along  these  ex- 
quisite blue  waters,  and  soon  have  a 
glimpse,  at  three  miles  distance,  of  an 


isolated,  abrupt  cone,  trimmed  at  the 
summit  into  the  proportions  of  a  pyra- 
mid. It  is  the  hill  of  Gouraya,  an  enor- 
mous mass  of  granite  which  lifts  its 
scarped  summit  over  the  port  of  Bougie, 
called  Salda  by  Strabo.     We  approach 


ROMAN    RELICS    AT    PHILIPPEVILLE. 


and  watch  the  enormous  rock  seeming 
to  grow  taller  and  taller  as  we  nestle  be- 
neath it  in  the  beautiful  harbor.  Bougie 
lies  on  a  narrow  and  stony  beach  in  the 
embrace  of  the  mountain,  white  and  co- 
quettish, spreading  up  the  rocky  wall  as 
far  as  it  can,  and  looking  aloft  to  the 
protecting  summit  two  thousand  feet 
above  it.  We  abstain  from  dismount- 
ing, but  sweep  the  city  with  field-glasses 
from  the  deck  of  the  ship,  recollecting 
that  Bougie  was  bombarded  in  the  reign 
of  the  Merrie  Monarch  by  Sir  Edward 
Spragg.  We  trace  the  ravine  of  Sidi- 
Touati,  which  breaks  the  town  in  half 
as  it  splits  its  way  into  the  sea.  Here, 
in  1836,  the  French  commandant,  Salo- 
mon de  Mussis,  was  treacherously  shot 
while  at  a  friendly  conference  with  the 
sheikh   Amzian,  the   pretext  being  the 


murder  of  a  marabout  by  the  French 
sentinels.  The  incident  is  worth  men- 
tioning, because  it  brought  into  light 
some  of  the  nobler  traits  of  Kabyle  cha- 
racter. The  sheikh,  for  killing  a  guest 
with  whom  he  had  just  taken  coffee,  was 
reproached  by  the  natives  as  "the  man 
who  murdered  with  one  hand  and  took 
gifts  with  the  other,"  and  was  forced  by 
mere  popular  contempt  from  his  sheikh- 
ship,  to  perish  in  utter  obscurity. 

Putting  on  steam  again,  we  recede 
from  Bougie,  and  passing  Djigelly,  with 
its  overpoweringly  large  barracks  and 
hospital,  doubhng  Cape  Bougarone  and 
sighting  the  fishing-village  of  Stora,  we 
arrive  at  the  new  port-city  of  Philippe- 
ville.  This  colony,  a  plantation  of  Louis 
Philippe's  upon  the  site  of  the  Roman 
Russicada,  has  only  thirty-four  years  of 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


71 


existence,  and  contains  twenty  French- 
men for  ever)-  Arab  found  within  it.  It 
differs,  however,  from  our  American 
thirty-year-old  towns  in  the  interesting 
respect  of  showing  the  traces  of  an  older 
civilization.     French   savants  here   ex- 


amine the  ruins  of  the  theatre  and  the 
immense  Roman  reservoirs  in  the  hill- 
side, and  take  "squeezes  "  of  inscriptions 
marked  upon  the  antique  altar,  column 
or  cippus.  On  an  ancient  pillar  was 
found  an  amusing  grafita,  the  sketch  of 


LION-SHAPED    ROCK,    HARBOR   OF    BONA. 


some  Roman  schoolboy,  showing  an  ' 
aquarius  (or  water-carrier)  loaded  with 
his  twin  buckets.  Philippeville,  nursed 
among  these  glowing  African  hills,  has 
the  look  of  some  bad  melodramatic  joke. 
Its  European  houses,  streets  laid  out  with 
the  surveyor's  chain,  pompous  church, 
and  arcades  like  a  Rue  de  Rivoli  in  min- 
iature, make  a  foolish  show  indeed,  in 
place  of  the  walls,  white,  unwinking  and 
mysterious,  which  ordinarily  enclose  the 
Eastern  home  or  protect  the  Arab's  wife 
behind  their  blinded  windows. 

If  we  leave  Philippeville  in  the  even- 
ing, we  find  ourselves  next  morning  in 
the  handsome  roadstead  of  Bona.  This, 
for  the  present,  will  terminate  our  ex- 
amination of  the  coast,  for,  however  fond 
we  may  be  of  level  traveling,  we  cannot 
reasonably  expect  to  get  over  the  Atlas 
Mountains  by  hugging  the  shore.  The 
harbor  of  Bona,  though  broad  and  beau- 
tiful, is  somewhat  dangerous,  concealing 
numbers  of  rocks  which  lurk  at  about 
the  surface  of  the  water.  Other  rocks, 
standing  boldly  out  at  the  entrance  of 
the  port,  offer  a  singular  aspect,  being 
sculptured  into  strange  forms  by  the  sea. 
One  makes  a  very  good  statue  of  a  lion, 
lying  before  the  city  as  its  guard,  and 
looking  across  the  waves  for  an  enemy 
as  the  foam  caresses  its  monstrous  feet. 


Dismounting  from  shipboard,  we  be- 
come landsmen  for  the  remainder  of  oui 
journey,  and  wave  adieu  to  the  steam- 
boat which  has  brought  us  as  we  linger 
a  moment  on  the  mole  of  Bona.  This 
city  is  named  from  the  ancient  Hippo, 
out  of  whose  ruins,  a  mile  to  the  south- 
ward, it  was  largely  built.  The  Arabs 
call  it  "the  city  of  jujube  trees" — 
Beled-el-Huneb.  To  the  Roumi  (or 
Christian)  traveler  the  interest  of  the 
spot  concentrates  in  one  historic  figure, 
that  of  Saint  Augustine.  In  the  basilica 
of  Hippo,  of  which  the  remains  are  be- 
lieved to  have  been  identified  in  some 
recent  excavations,  the  sainted  bishop 
shook  the  air  with  his  learned  and  pene- 
trating eloquence.  Here  he  exhorted 
the  faithful  to  defend  their  religious  lib- 
erty and  their  lives,  uncertain  if  the  Van- 
dal hordes  of  Genseric  were  not  about 
to  sweep  away  the  faith  and  the  lan- 
guage of  Rome.  Here,  where  the  forest 
of  El  Edoug  spreads  a  shadow  like  that 
of  memory  over  the  scene  of  his  walks 
and  labors,  he  brought  his  grand  life  of 
expiation  to  a  holy  close,  praying  with 
his  last  breath  for  his  disciples  oppressed 
by  the  invaders.  We  reach  the  site  of 
Hippo  (or  Hippone)  by  a  Roman  bridge, 
restored  to  its  former  solidity  by  the 
French,  over  whose  arches  the  bishop 


72 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


must  have  often  walked,  meditating  on 
his  youth  of  profligacy  and  vain  scholar- 
ship, and  over  the  abounding  Divine 
grace  which  had  saved  him  for  the  edi- 
fication of  all  futurity. 

Bona  has  a  street  named  Saint  Augus- 


tine, but  it  is,  by  one  of  the  strange  para- 
doxes which  history  is  constantly  play- 
ing us,  owned  entirely  by  Jews,  and 
those  of  one  sole  family.  This  fact  in- 
dicates how  the  thrifty  race  has  pros- 
pered   since    the     French    occupancy 


-  s^='.  J:F: 


SHOPKEEPER   AT    BONA. 


Formerly  oppressed  and  ill-treated,  tax- 
ed and  murdered  by  the  Turks,  and  only 
permitted  to  dress  in  the  mournfulest 
colors,  the  Jew  of  Algeria  hid  himself  as 
if  life  were  something  he  had  stolen,  and 
for  which  he  must  apologize  all  his  days. 
Now,  treated  with  the  same  liberality  as 
any  other  colonist,  the  Jew  indulges  in 
every  ostentation  of  dress  except  as  to 
the  color  of  the  turban,  which,  in  small 
towns  like  Bona,  still  preserves  the  black 
hue  of  former  days  of  oppression.  On 
Saturdays  the  children  of  Jacob  fairly 
blaze  with  gold  and  gay  colors.  On 
their  working  days  they  line  the  princi- 
pal streets,  eyeing  the  passers-by  with  a 
cool,  easy  indifference,  but  never  losing 
a  chance  of  business.  In  Algeria  this 
race  is  generally  thought  to  present  a 
picture  of  arrogance,  knavery  and  rank 
cowardice  not  equaled  on  the  face  of 
the  globe.     An    English    traveler  saw 


an  Arab,  after  maddening  himself  with 
opium  and  absinthe,  run  a-mok  among 
the  shopkeepers  who  lined  the  principal 
street  of  Algiers.  Selecting  the  Hebrews, 
he  drove  before  him  a  throng  of  twenty, 
dressed  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 
who  allowed  themselves  to  be  knocked 
down  with  the  obedience  of  ninepins. 
A  Frenchman  stopped  the  maniac  after 
he  had  killed  one  Jew  and  wounded  sev- 
eral, none  of  them  making  any  effort  at 
defence. 

A  few  narrow  streets,  bordered  with 
Moorish  architecture,  contain  the  native 
industry  of  Bona.  It  is  about  equally 
divided  between  the  Jews  and  the  M'za- 
bites,  who,  like  the  Kabyles,  are  a  rem- 
nant of  the  stiff-necked  old  Berber  tribe. 
The  M'zabites  preserve  the  pure  Arab 
dress — the  haik,  or  small  bornouse  with- 
out hood,  the  broad  breeches  coming  to 
the  knee,  the  bare  legs,  and  the  turban 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


73 


rolled  up  into  a  coil  of  ropes.  Thus  ac- 
coutred, and  squatting  in  the  ledges  of 
their  small  booths,  the  jewelers,  black- 
smiths and  tailors  of  Bona  are  found  at 
their  work. 

Returnin;g  to   Philippeville   by   land. 


and  remaining  as  short  a  time  as  possible 
in  this  unedifying  city,  which  is  a  bad 
and  overheated  imitation  of  a  French 
provincial  town,  we  concede  only  so 
much  to  its  modern  character  as  to  hire 
a  fine  open  carriage  in  which  to  proceed 


COXSTANTINA. 


inland  toward  Constantina.  This  city 
is  reached  after  a  calm,  meditative  ride 
through  sunny  hills  and  groves.  After 
so  quiet  a  preparation  the  first  view  of 
Constantina  is  fairly  astounding.  En- 
circled by  a  grand  curve  of  mountainous 
precipices,  rises  a  gigantic  rock,  washed 
by  a  moat  formed  of  the  roaring  cas- 
cades of  the  river  Rummel.  On  the 
flat  top  of  this  naked  rock,  like  the  Sty- 
lites  on  his  pillar,  stands  Constantina. 
The  Arabs  used  to  say  that  Constantina 
was  a  stone  in  the  midst  of  a  flood,  and 
that,  according  to  their  Prophet,  it  would 
require  as  many  Franks  to  raise  that 
stone  as  it  would  of  ants  to  lift  an  egg 
at  the  bottom  of  a  milk-pot. 

This  city,  under  its  old  Roman  name 
of  Cirta,  was  one  of  the  principal  strong- 
holds of  Numidia.  In  1837  it  was  one 
of  the  most  hotly-defended  strongholds 
of  the  Kabyles.     The  French  have  re- 


named, as  "Gate  of  the  Breach,"  the 
old  Bab-el-Djedid,  where  Colonel  La- 
moriciere  entered  at  the  head  of  his 
Zouaves.  The  city  had  to  be  conquered 
in  detail,  house  by  house.  Lamoriciere 
himself  was  wounded :  the  Kabyles, 
driven  to  their  last  extremity,  evacuated 
the  Casbah  on  the  summit  of  the  rock, 
and  let  down  their  women  by  ropes  into 
the  abyss ;  the  ropes,  overweighted  by 
these  human  clusters,  broke,  piling  the 
bodies  and  fragments  of  bodies  in  heaps 
beneath  the  precipice,  while  some  of  the 
natives  descended  the  steep  rock  safely 
with  the  agility  of  goats. 

Of  all  the  large  Algerian  cities,  Con- 
stantina is  that  which  has  best  preserved 
its  primitive  signet.  In  most  quarters  it 
remains  what  it  was  under  the  Turks. 
These  quarters  are  still  undermined, 
rather  than  laid  out,  with  close  and 
crooked  streets,  where  the  rough  white 


74 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


houses  are  pierced  with  narrow  win- 
dows, closed  to  the  inquisitive  eye  of 
the  Roumi.  Tlie  roofs  are  of  tile,  for 
the  winters  on  the  hills  are  too  severe  to 
permit  the  flat,  terraced  roofs  of  Algiers 
or  Bona.     These  white  houses,   roofed 


with  brown,  give  a  perfectly  original  as- 
pect to  the  city  as  seen  from  any  of  the 
neighboring  eminences.  The  plateau  of 
Mansourah  is  connected  with  the  town 
by  a  magnificent  Roman  bridge,  two  sto- 
ries in  height,  restored  by  the  French. 


ROMAN    LiRIDGE    AT    CONSTANTINA. 


From  this  bridge,  which  is  three  hun- 
dred feet  high  by  three  hundred  and  fif- 
teen feet  in  length,  and  has  five  arches, 
you  look  down  into  the  bed  of  the  Rum- 
mel,  while  the  vultures  and  eagles  scream 
around  you,  and  you  recite  the  words 
of  the  poet  El  Abdery,  who  called  this 
river  a  bracelet  which  encircles  an  arm. 
The  gorge  opens  out  into  a  beautiful 
plain  rich  with  pomegranates,  figs  and 
orange  trees.  The  sea  is  forty  -  eight 
miles  away. 


The  last  bey  of  Constantina,  not  know- 
ing that  he  was  merely  building  for  the 
occupancy  of  the  French  governors  who 
were  to  come  after  him,  decreed  himself, 
some  fifty  years  ago,  a  stately  pleasure- 
dome,  after  the  fashion  of  Kubla  Khan. 
From  the  ruins  of  Constantina,  Bona 
and  Tunis,  Ahmed  Bey  picked  up  what- 
ever was  most  beautiful  in  the  way  of 
Roman  marbles  and  carving.  With 
these  he  built  his  halls,  while  the  Rum- 
mel,   through    caverns    measureless   to 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


75 


man,  ran  on  below.     Some  Frenchman 
of  importance  will  now-a-days  give  you 


the   freedom   of   this   curious   piece   of 
Turkish     construction,    where,    among 


BEY  b    PALACE,    CONSTANTINA. 


Storks  and  ibises  gravely  perched  on 
one  stilt,  you  examine  the  relics  of  Ro- 
man history,  preserved  by  its  very  de- 


stroyers, according  to  the  grotesque 
providence  that  watches  over  the  study 
of  archaeology. 


76 


THE   ROUMJ  IN  KABYLIA. 


You  are  told  how  Ahmed,  wishing  to 
adorn  the  walls  of  his  gallery  or  loggia 
with  frescoes,  of  which  he  had  heard, 
but  which  he  had  no  artist  capable  of 
executing,  whether  Arab,  Moor  or  Jew, 
applied  to  a  prisoner.     The   man   was 


a  French  shoemaker,  who  had  never 
touched  a  brush :  he  vainly  tried  to  de- 
cline the  honor,  but  the  bey  was  inflex- 
ible :  "  You  are  a  vile  liar :  all  the  Chris- 
tians can  paint.  Liberty  if  you  succeed, 
death  if  you  disobey  me." 


SHAMPOOING   THE    ROUMI. 


Extremely  nervous  was  the  hand 
which  the  painter  vialgre  lid  applied  to 
the  unlooked-for  task.  From  the  labori- 
ous travail  of  his  brain  issued  at  length 
an  odd  mass  of  arabesques  with  which 
the  walls  were  somehow  covered.  His 
invention  exhausted,  he  awaited  in  an 
agony  of  fear  the  inspection  of  his  Turk- 
ish master.  He  came,  and  was  enchant- 
ed. The  painter  was  free,  and  the  bey 
observed  :  "The  dog  wanted  to  deceive 
me  :  I  knew  that  all  the  Christians  could 
paint." 

You  are  amazed  to  find,  in  this  nest 
of  Islamite  savagery  and  among  these 
wild  rocks,  the  uttermost  accent  of  mod- 
ern French  politeness.  Your  presence 
is  a  windfall  in  quarters  so  retired,  and 
you  sit  among  orange  plants  and  stray- 


ing gazelles,  while  the  military  band 
throws  softly  out  against  the  inaccessible 
crags  the  famous  tower-scene  from  the 
fourth  act  of  //  Trovatore.  As  night 
draws  on,  tired  of  your  explorations, 
you  seek  a  Moorish  bath. 

Let  no  tourist,  experienced  only  in  the 
effeminate  imitations  of  the  hummum  to 
be  found  in  New  York  or  London,  expect 
similar  considerate  treatment  in  Algeria. 
He  will  be  more  likely  to  receive  the  at- 
tention of  the  M'zabite  bather  after  the 
fashion  narrated  in  the  following  para- 
graph, which  is  a  quotation  from  an 
English  journalist  in  the  land  of  the 
Kabyles : 

"We  were  told  to  sit  down  upon  a 
marble  seat  in  the  middle  of  the  hall, 
which  we  had  no  sooner  done  than  we 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


77 


became  sensible  of  a  great  increase  of 
heat :  aftei  this  each  of  us  was  taken 
into  a  closet  of  milder  temperature, 
where,  after  placing  a  white  cloth  on  the 
floor  and  taking  oflf  our  napkins,  they 
laid  us  down,  leaving  us  to  the  further 


operations  of  two  naked,  robust  negroes. 
These  men,  newly  brought  from  the  in- 
terior of  Africa,  were  ignorant  of  Arabic  ; 
so  I  could  not  tell  them  in  what  way  I 
wished  to  be  treated,  and  they  handled 
me  as  roughly  as  if  I  had  been  a  Moor 


S\\\\\v\\\ 


HAMMO-EL-ZOUAOUl. 


inured  to  hardship.  Kneeling  with  one 
knee  upon  the  ground,  each  took  me  by 
a  leg  and  began  rubbing  the  soles  of 
my  feet  with  a  pumice  stone.  After  this 
operation  on  my  feet,  they  put  their 
hands  into  a  small  bag  and  rubbed  me 
all  over  with  it  as  hard  as  they  could. 
The  distortions  of  my  countenance  must 
have  told  them  what  I  endured,  but  they 
rubbed  on,  smiling  at  each  other,  and 
sometimes  giving  me  an  encouraging 
look,  indicating  by  their  gestures  the 
good  it  would  do  me.  While  they  were 
thus  currying  me  they  almost  drowned  me 
by  throwing  warm  water  upon  me  with 
large  silver  vessels,  which  were  in  the 
basin  under  a  cock  fastened  in  the  wall. 
When  this  was  over  they  raised  me  up, 
putting  my  head  under  the  cock,  by 
which  means  the  water  flowed  all  over 
my  body ;  and,  as  if  this  was  not  suf- 
ficient, my  attendants  continued  plying 
their  vessels.  Then,  having  dried  me 
with  very  fine   napkins,  they  each   of 


them  very  respectfully  kissed  my  hand. 
I  considered  this  as  a  sign  that  my  tor- 
ment was  over,  and  was  going  to  dress 
myself,  when  one  of  the  negroes,  grimly 
smiling,  stopped  me  till  the  other  return- 
ed with  a  kind  of  earth,  which  they  began 
to  rub  all  over  my  body  without  consult- 
ing my  inclination.  I  was  as  much  sur- 
prised to  see  it  take  off  all  the  hair  as 
I  was  pained  in  the  operation ;  for  this 
earth  is  so  quick  in  its  effect  that  it  burns 
the  skin  if  left  upon  the  body.  This 
being  finished,  I  went  through  a  second 
ablution,  after  which  one  of  them  seized 
me  behind  by  the  shoulders,  and  setting 
his  two  knees  against  the  lower  part  of 
my  back,  made  my  bones  crack,  so  that 
for  a  time  I  thought  they  were  entirely 
dislocated.  Nor  was  this  all,  for  after 
whirling  me  about  like  a  top  to  the  right 
and  left,  he  delivered  me  to  his  comrade, 
who  used  me  in  the  same  manner :  and 
then,  to  my  no  small  satisfaction,  opened 
the  closet  door." 


78 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


This  is  the  true  Moorish  bath.  Mean- 
time, the  M'zabite  or  negro,  as  he  dislo- 
cates your  legs,  cracks  your  spinal  col- 
umn or  dances  over  you  on  his  knees, 
drones  forth  a  kind  of  native  psalmody, 
which,  melting  into  the  steamy  atmo- 
sphere of  the   place,  seems  to  be  the 


litany  of  happiness  and  of  the  pure 
in  heart.  Clean  in  body  and  soul  as 
you  never  were  before,  skinned,  depi- 
lated, dissected,  you  emerge  for  a  new 
life  of  ideal  perfection,  feeling  as  if  you 
were  suddenly  relieved  of  your  body. 
There  is  held  every  Friday  at  Con- 


■  —     •    —    'Mill' 


«  BALEK  !" 


stantina  a  grand  assembly  of  the  fire- 
eating  marabouts,  the  fanatics  who  have 
given  so  much  trouble  to  their  French 
rulers.  Every  revolution  among  the 
Kabyles  is  a  religious  movement,  set  in 
motion  by  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  the 
"saints."  The  religious  orders  of  Ka- 
bylia,  all  of  them  differing  in  various 
degrees  from  Turkish  Mohammedanism, 
are  of  some  half  dozen  varieties,  adapted 
to  minds  of  various  cultivation.  Some, 
as  that  of  Sidi-Yusef-Hansali,  are  mild 
in  their  rites  and  of  a  purely  didactic  or 
religious  nature.  This  latter  sect  origin- 
ated in  Constantina,  comprises  two  thou- 
sand brothers  or  khouans,  and  was  in 
1865  under  the  authority  of  Hammo-el- 
Zouaoui,  a  direct  descendant  of  Yusef- 
Hansali.  An  hour  passed  in  the  college 
of  this  order,  where  the  whole  formula 
of  worship  consists  in  saying  a  hundred 
times  "God  forgive!"  then,  a  hundred 
other  times,  "Allah  ill'  Allah:  Moham- 
med ressoul  Allah  !"  may  be  monotonous, 
but  it  is  not  revolutionary.     From  this 


tautological  brotherhood,  through  vari- 
ous degrees  of  emotional  activity,  you 
arrive  at  the  wild  doings  of  the  fire- 
eaters,  or  followers  of  Mohammed-ben- 
Aissa.  This  Aissa  was  a  native  of  Mek- 
nes  in  Morocco,  where  he  died  full  of 
years  and  piety  three  hundred  years  ago. 
His  legend  states  that  being  originally 
very  poor,  he  attempted  to  support  his 
family  in  the  truly  Oriental  manner,  not 
by  working  for  them,  but  by  spending 
his  whole  time  at  the  mosque  in  prayer 
for  their  miraculous  sustenance.  His 
inertia  and  his  faith  were  acceptable  to 
Mohammed,  who  appeared  to  Aissa's 
wife  with  baskets  of  food,  and  to  Aissa 
with  the  order  to  found  a  sect.  The  al- 
legory expressed  by  the  disgusting  actions 
of  the  order  would  seem  to  be  that  any- 
thing is  nourishment  to  the  true  believer. 
They  therefore  exhibit  themselves  as  eat- 
ing red-hot  iron,  scorpions  and  prickly 
cactus.  Various  travelers,  some  of  them 
cool  hands  and  accurate  observers,  have 
seen   these  khouans    at    their  horrible 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


79 


feasts  without  being  able  to  explain  the 
imposture.  A  British  soldier,  an  experi- 
enced Indian  officer,  happened  to  be  in 


Kabylia  just  before  the  breaking  out  of 
the  great  Sepoy  rebellion  in  India,  and 
was  introduced  to  one  of  the  fire-eating 


A  STREET   IN   CONSTANTINA. 


orgies  by  Major  Deval  at  Tizi-ouzou, 
where  our  journey  into  Kabylia  is  to 
terminate.     With  his  own  eyes  he  saw  a 


khouan,  excited  by  half  an  hour's  chant- 
ing and  beating  the  tom-tom,  drive  a 
sword  four  inches  deep  into  his  chest  by 


So 


THE   KOUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


~^l-TTU  /l\jt==S^^== 


THE   GREAT    MOSQUE,    CONSTANTINA. 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


8i 


hitting  it  with  a  tile.  The  man  marched 
around  and  exhibited  it  to  the  congrega- 
tion as  it  quivered  in  his  naked  body. 
Another  seared  his  face  and  hands  with 
a  large  red-hot  iron,  holding  it  finally 
with  his  mouth  without  other  support. 
Another  chewed  up  an  entire  leaf  of  a 
cactus  with  its  dangerous  spikes,  which 
sting  one's  hands  severely  and  remain 
rankling  in  the  flesh.  Another  filled  his 
mouth  with  live  coals  from  a  brazier, 
and  walked  around  blowing  out  sparks. 
Another  swallowed  a  living  scorpion,  a 
small  snake,  broken  glass  and  nails. 
The  spectator  was  in  the  midst  of  these 
enthusiasts,  being  touched  by  them  in 
their  antics,  yet  he  could  detect  no  foul 
play,  except  that  he  imagined  the  sword 
in  the  first-named  experiment  to  have 
been  driven  into  an  old  wound  or  be- 
tween the  skin  and  the  flesh.  It  was  to 
counteract  the  influence  of  the  fire-eating 
marabouts  that  the  French  government 
sent  over  Robert  Houdin,  the  ingenious 
mechanician,  but  though  he  ecHpsed 
their  wonders  by  tricks  of  electricity  and 
sleight,  he  has  left  but  a  lame  explana- 
tion of  the  "juggleries"  of  the  Algerine 
saints. 

The  worst  attribute  of  these  khouans 
is,  that  after  having  excited  the  ignorant 
Kabyles  to  many  a  losing  war  by  their 
magnetism,  they  remain  themselves  be- 
hind the  curtain,  safe  and  sarcastic. 

In  the  Moorish  quarter  of  Constan- 
tina,  where  the  streets  are  about  five  feet 
wide,  you  sit  down  to  watch  the  per- 
petual come-and-go  of  the  inhabitants. 
Taking  a  cup  of  fragrant  coffee — which, 
as  the  reader  knows,  is  in  Eastern  coun- 
tries eaten  at  the  same  time  that  it  is 
drunk — you  sit  on  a  stone  bench  of  the 
coffee-house  and  contemplate  mules, 
horses,  asses,  passengers,  buyers,  sellers, 
loungers,  Arabs,  Turks,  Kabyles,  Jews, 
6 


Moors  and  spahis.  On  every  side  you 
hear  the  cry  of  "  Balek  !  balek  !"  This 
means  "Look  out!"  and  the  word  is 
closely  followed  by  the  causative  fact. 
The  street  is  unpaved,  the  horse  is  un- 
shod, the  hoofs  cannot  be  heard,  and 
you  have  hardly  time  to  efface  yourself 
against  a  wall  when  a  cavalier  passes  by 
like  a  careless  torrent,  scattering  the 
white  bornouses  centrifugally  from  his 
pathway  as  he  advances.  The  streets, 
as  we  observed,  are  very  narrow.  Each 
has  its  own  manufacture.  Here  are  the 
tailors ;  here,  in  this  deafening  alley, 
are  the  blacksmiths  ;  farther  on  are  the 
shoemakers,  and  you  are  driven  mad 
with  wonder  at  the  quantities  of  slippers 
made  for  a  people  which  goes  eternally 
barefoot.  Springing  out  of  this  daedal 
intricacy  of  booths  and  workshops  rise 
the  slender  minarets  of  prayer,  of  which 
the  principal  one  belongs  to  a  mosque 
said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  in  Algeria. 
The  interior  of  this  chief  mosque  is  not 
deprived  of  ornament,  having  its  col- 
umns of  pink  marble,  its  elliptical  r^Ioor- 
ish  arches,  and  its  tiles  of  painted  fay- 
ence  set  in  the  walls.  In  the  centre  is 
the  pulpit,  coarsely  painted  red  and 
blue,  where  the  imaum  recites  his  pray- 
ers. Three  small,  lofty  windows  are  fill- 
ed with  carved  lacework.  The  floor  is 
spread  with  carpets  for  the  knees  of  the 
rich,  with  matting  for  the  poor.  Over 
all  rises  the  square,  crescent  -  crowned 
minaret — no  belfry,  but  a  steeple  where 
the  chimes  are  rung  by  the  human  voice.. 
Night  and  day,  from  the  heights  of  their 
slender  towers,  the  muezzins  toll  out 
their  vibrating  notes  like  a  bell,  inviting 
the  faithful  to  prayers  with  the  often- 
heard  signal:  "Allah  ill'  Allah:  Mo- 
hammed resoul  Allah  !" 

(end  of  part  first.) 


82 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


THE    ROUMI     IX     KABYLIA 


PART   SECOND. 


PROM    CONSTANTINA   TO   SETIF. 


THE  Roumi  who  leaves  Constantina 
for  Setif  has  a  choice  of  two  routes 
— one  picturesque,  lively  and  covered 
with  Roman  remains  ;  the  other  perfect- 
ly arid,  and  distinguished  by  the  fact 
that  in  five  miles  there  are  just  four 
trees. 

He  turns,  however,  as  he  settles  him- 
self in  his  stirrup  amongst  the  interested 
Arab  population  of  Constantina,  to  cast 
a  last  look  at  the  ugly  French  streets 
in  which,  as  a  tourist,  his  lot  was  cast. 
The  Arab  quarters,  where  life  still  flows 
on  in  the  old  African  style,  have  seized 
his  attention  exclusively,  and  he  remem- 
bers with  a  kind  of  contemptuous  re- 
morse that  he  has  paid  no  regard  to  the 
smart  modern  edifices  and  offices  that 
belong  to  French  occupation.  Yet  one 
of  these,  at  least,  the  staring  Napoleonic 
Palais  de  Justice,  would  yield  him  a  ro- 
mance from  time  to  time. 

Here,  in  December,  1872,  twenty-one 
natives  of  the  Belezma  were  tried  at  a 
court  of  assizes  for  the  massacre,  last 
April,  of  twelve  French  colonists.  The 
affair  was  a  sequel  of  the  French-Prus- 
sian war.  The  natives,  for  a  long  time 
past  on  good  terms  with  strangers,  be- 


came insolent,  boasting  that  France  was 
ruined,  and  that  all  the  French  would 
soon  disappear  from  Algeria.  Some  of 
the  tribes,  however,  remained,  if  not 
friendly,  at  least  less  hostile.  The  re- 
volt had  become  almost  general,  and  on 
the  2 1st  of  April  the  sheikh  Brahim  of 
the  Halymias  informed  the  little  colony 
near  Batna  that  they  were  no  longer 
safe  in  the  forest,  and  offered  to  escort 
them  into  Batna.  These  colonists  were 
the  workmen  at  the  saw-mills  of  a  M. 
Prudhomme,  about  ten  miles  out  of  the 
town.  The  Europeans,  consisting  of 
thirteen  men,  one  woman  named  Dorliat 
and  her  four  children,  set  out  the  next 
morning,  accompanied  by  Brahim  and 
about  forty  of  his  men.  On  arriving  in 
a  ravine  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by 
a  large  body  of  the  rebels.  Six  of  the 
party,  who  were  in  the  rear,  succeeded 
in  escaping,  but  twelve  of  the  men  were 
massacred.  Madame  Dorliat,  it  is  said, 
owed  her  life  to  a  native  named  Abdal- 
lah  at  the  saw-mills,  who,  on  seeing  her 
in  tears  before  starting,  said  to  her: 
"Woman,  you  have  nothing  to  fear :  no 
harm  will  be  done  to  you  or  to  your  chil- 
dren.    As  for  the  men,  I  will  not  answer 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


^Z 


for  them."  As  she  continued  to  weep, 
he  added  :  "  Listen  !  When  you  see  the 
guns  pointed  at  your  breast,  say  this 
prayer  :  '  Allah  !  Allah  !  Mohammed 
racoul  Allah!'  and  you  will  be  saved." 
He  also  taught  the  same  prayer  to  her 
children.     In  the  midst  of  the  slaughter 


MOUNTAIN   ARABS. 

several  Arabs  had  leveled  their  firearms 
at  her  to  shoot  her,  when  she  remem- 
bered Abdallah's  lesson,  and  throwing 
herself  on  her  knees  to  them  repeated 
the  invocation.  The  murderers  stopped, 
made  her  say  it  over  again,  and  asked, 
"Do  you  mean  it?"  On  her  replying 
in  the  affirmative  they  spared  her,  but 
stripped  her  entirely  naked,  and  took 
from  her  three  of  her  children  :  she  only 
recovered  them  thirty -two  days  later, 
and  one  of  them  died  from  a  sabre-cut 
in  the  head,  received  during  the  fight. 
The  woman's  husband  was  among  the 
killed,  and  so  was  the  proprietor  of  the 
mill,  M.  Prudhomme.  Of  the  twenty  ac- 
cused brought  to  trial  at  Constantina, 
twelve  were  condemned  to  death  and 
three  to  hard  labor ;  the  others,  among 


whom   was   the   sheikh   Brahim,  being 
acquitted. 

Severe  justice  is  the  only  condition  on 
which  French  supremacy  can  be  main- 
tained in  the  country,  and  probably  for 
the  general  Arab  populace  the  rule  of 
the  Gauls  is  a  judicious  one.  But  it  is 
to  be  questioned  whether 
the  rule  of  talion  is  the 
right  one  for  the  Kabyles. 
In  1 87 1,  at  the  height  of 
the  French  troubles  with 
the  Commune,  formidable 
revolts  were  going  on 
among  the  descendants 
of  those  untamable 
wretches  whom  Saint 
Arnaud  smoked  out  in 
a  cave.  In  July  the  gar- 
rison at  Setif  heard  the 
plaint  of  a  friendly  cadi, 
named  D'joudi,  who  had 
been  wantonly  attacked 
for  his  loyalty  to  the 
French  by  some  organ- 
ized mutineers  under 
Mohammed  Ben-Hadad. 
The  poor  wretch  had 
been  obliged  to  flee,  with 
his  women  and  his  flocks, 
into  the  protection  of  his 
country's  oppressors. 
Since  the  chassepot  has 
succeeded  in  reducing 
the  Kabyles  once  more 
to  a  superficial  obedience,  the  courts 
have  been  busy  with  the  sentences  of 
their  insubordinate  leaders.  France  im- 
itates England's  sanguinary  policy  in 
her  treatment  of  rebellious  and  semi- 
civihzed  tribes.  Eight  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Kabyle  revolt  of  1871  have  been 
condemned  to  death,  and  a  number  of 
others  have  been  sentenced  to  various 
terms  of  imprisonment.  The  Kabyles 
will  take  their  revenge  when  another 
European  war  places  the  Algiers  colo- 
nists at  their  mercy. 

The  guides  who  accompany  the  trav- 
eler serve,  in  the  absence  of  the  trees,  to 
attract  his  scrutiny.  These  mountain 
Arabs  are  superb  fellows.  Lips  almost 
black,  and  shaded  with  lustrous  beards, 
set  off  their  perfect  teeth,  white,  small, 


84 


THE    ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


and  separated  like  those  of  a  young  dog. 
Their  black  eyes  are  soft  or  stern  at  will. 
They  are  usually  of  middle  size,  large- 


chested,  as  befits  Arabs  from  the  hills, 
with  small  heads  and  finely  -  tapered 
wrists  and  ankles.     They  are  dressed  in 


y;c'ij£i4^ 


AN    ARAB    DOUAR. 


red,  with  a  covering  of  two  bornouses —  i  tached  to  their  boots  of  red  morocco, 
a  white  one  beneath,  and  a  black  one  which  come  up  to  the  knee ;  for  the 
fastened  over.     Long  iron  spurs  are  at-  |  Algerian   Arab,    a    bare-legged  animal 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


85 


when  walking,  is  a  booted  cavalier  when 
mounted.  The  white  haik,  or  toga,  is 
fastened  around  the  temples.  The  horse 
of  the  principal  guide  is  a  fine  iron-gray, 
with  an  enormous  tail  of  black — high- 
stepping,  and  carrying  his  elaborately- 
draped  burden  as  proudly  as  a  banner. 


In  contrast  to  this  imposing  guard  of 
honor,  the -traveler  minces  along  on  a 
dumb,  timid  mule,  who  smells  the  ground 
in  a  sordid  and  vulgar  manner,  and  is 
guided  by  a  pitiful  rope  bridle.  Such 
are  the  hackneys  and  the  guides,  en- 
gaged on  the  recommendation    of  the 


THE    WA.SllKRWUMEN. 


commandant  of  Constantina,  who  un- 
dertake to  carry  us  to  Setif  and  on  to 
Bou-Kteun  in  Kabylia. 

Setif,  the  ancient  metropolis  of  this 
part  of  Mauritania,  and  celebrated  for  a 
brave  defence  against  the  invading  Sara- 
cens, is  now  the  healthiest  spot  occupied 
by  the  French  in  all  Algeria.  It  lies  on 
a  great  table  a  mile  above  the  sea,  is 
fortified,  and  has  four  good  streets,  but 
pays  for  its  salubrity  by  the  extreme  out- 
spokenness of  the  climate.  It  is  subject 
to  snow  for  six  months,  and  is  enveloped 
in  a  cloud  of  dust  the  other  six.  It  is 
in  the  midst  of  a  great  grain-producing 
country,  and  is  famed  for  its  market, 
held  every  Sabbath.  The  surrounding 
folk  dress  for  market,  instead  of  dress- 
ing for  Sunday,  and  exhibit  the  whitest 
of  bornouses  above  the  dustiest  of  legs 


as  they  sit  crooning  over  trays  of  eggs 
or  onions,  brought  far  on  foot  through 
the  powdery  roads. 

As  we  leave  Setif  we  are  overtaken 
by  the  lumbering  stage-coach,  which 
plunges  and  jolts  over  the  road  to  Sibou- 
Areridj — a  coach  apparently  about  the 
age  of  the  carriage  of  General  Wash- 
ington, for  Algeria  is  the  infirmary  of  all 
the  worn-out  French  dihgences.  Sibou- 
Areridj  is  reached  and  passed,  and  a 
few  miles  farther  on  is  encountered  an 
Arab  douar,  or  assemblage  of  tents  form- 
ing a  tribal  fraction.  This  woven  village, 
although  we  have  attained  the  limits  of 
Kabylia,  reminds  us  that  we  have  not 
yet  reached  the  Kabylian  abodes :  an 
Arab  lives  in  a  tent  in  all  localities  out- 
side the  great  cities — a  Kabyle,  never. 
However    poor    the   hut   in   which   the 


86 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


Kabylian  artisan  starves  and  labors,  it 
must  be  a  solid  mansion  founded  upon 
the  soil,  and  its  master  must  feel  himself 
a  householder.  Our  douar  proves  to  be 
an  encampment  belonging  to  the  mara- 
bouts, or  high  religious  orders,  situated 
on  a  large  plot  of  ground  in  the  owner- 


ship of  the  saints,  and  extending  up  to 
the  limits  of  Kabylia.  Composed  of  a 
circle  of  tents  numbering  about  fifty, 
and  exhibiting  numbers  of  fine  horses 
picketed  near  the  tent-doors,  it  is  as  fine 
a  specimen  as  we  shall  see  of  the  patri- 
archal life  inherited  from  the  unfatherlv 


THE    STONE    T'JRKAN. 


father  of  Ishmael.  The  pavilions  are 
of  a  thick  camel's  hair  stuff,  very  labori- 
ously made  by  the  women,  which  swells 
up  in  the  rain  and  completely  excludes 
moisture.  They  are  striped  brown  and 
yellow,  but  a  splendid  tabernacle  in  the 
centre,  of  richer  colors  and  finer  fabric, 
bears  at  the  apex  a  golden  ball  with 
plumes  of  ostrich  feathers,  the  sign  of 
authority.  This  tent  is  oval  in  form, 
resembling  an  overturned  ship.  It  is 
the  residence  and  office  of  the  sheikh, 
or  chief  of  the  douar :  several  douars 
united  form  a  tribe,  governed  by  a  caid. 
We  venture  to  visit  the  sheikh,  assured 
by  our  spahi  guides  that  we  shall  be 
welcome.  We  are  received  blandly  by 
the  officer,  offensively  by  his  dogs,  a 
throng  of  veritable  jackals  who  scream 
around  our  feet  as  we  enter.  The  in- 
terior, rich  and  severe  at  once,  exhib- 
its saddles  and  arms,  gilded  boxes  and 
silken  curtains,  without  a  single  article 


of  furniture.  The  sheikh  treats  us  to 
mild  tobacco  in  chiboukhs — another  sign 
that  we  are  not  yet  in  Kabyha :  never 
is  a  Kabyle  seen  smoking.  We  recip- 
rocate by  offering  coffee,  made  on  the 
spot  over  our  spirit-lamp  —  a  process 
which  the  venerable  sheikh  watches  as 
a  piece  of  jugglery,  and  then  dismisses 
us  on  our  way  with  the  polite  but  final 
air  which  Sarah  may  be  supposed  to 
have  used  in  dismissing  Hagar. 

The  douar,  like  a  city,  has  suburbs 
of  greater  squalor  than  its  interior,  and 
among  them,  under  the  palm  trees,  we 
see  women  washing  clothes  or  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  couscoussou,  a 
dish  common  to  the  Arab,  the  Kabyle 
and  the  traveler  hereabouts,  and  so  im- 
portant that  a  description  of  its  prepara- 
tion may  be  acceptable. 

In  the  opening  of  a  small  tent,  then, 
we  paused  to  watch  an  old  moukere  (or 
daughter  of  Araby),  whose  hands  look 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


87 


as  if  she  had  been  stirring  up  the  com- 
post-heap of  bones,  pickings  and  dirt 
before  the  door.  With  these  hands  she 
rolls  dexterously  a  quantity  of  moisten- 
ed flour  upon  a  plate.  Long  habit  has 
made  it  easy  to  her,  and  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  she  has  formed  a  multitude 


of  small  grains — her  hands,  it  must  be 
said,  looking  a  great  deal  cleaner  after 
the  process.  On  the  fire  is  a  pot  of 
water,  just  placed.  She  interrupts  her 
labor  to  throw  in  a  piece  of  kid,  which, 
with  a  quantity  of  spices,  she  stirs  around 
with  her  callous   hand,  almost   to  the 


BOU-KTEU.N. 


boiling-pitch  of  the  water.  She  then 
addicts  herself  once  more  to  the  manu- 
facture of  the  flour-grains,  of  which  she 
has  directly  made  a  perfect  mountain. 
The  water  now  boiling,  she  places  the 
granulated  paste  in  a  second  earthen  pot 
or  vase,  whose  bottom,  pierced  like  a 
colander  with  holes,  fits  like  a  cover 
upon  that  in  which  the  meat  is  boiling. 
The  steam  cooks  the  grains,  which  are 
afterward  served  upon  a  platter,  with  the 
meat  on  top  and  the  soup  poured  over. 
All  travelers  agree  that,  when  you  do 
not  witness  the  preparation,  couscoussou 
is  a  toothsome  and  attractive  dish,  fit  to 
be  set  beside  the  maccaroni  of  Rossini. 
On  the  plateau  outside  the  douar  we 
find  the  cemetery,  with  its  tombs ;  for 
the  Arab,  content  to  sleep  under  tissue 
while  he  lives,  must  needs  sleep  under 
mason-work  after  he  is  dead.  Under 
the  koubba,  or  dome,  is  seen  a  sarcoph- 
agus covered  with  a  crimson  pall,  the 
tomb  of  a  dead  marabout :  banners  of 
yellow  or  green  silk,  the  testimony  of  so 
many  pilgrimages  to  Mecca,  hang  over 


the  dead.  In  the  graveyard  round  about 
are  tombstones  roughly  sculptured,  and 
the  stone  turbans  indicating  the  cranium 
of  a  Mussulman  ;  the  Arab,  again,  after 
building  his  house  of  camel's  hair,  order- 
ing his  last  turban  to  be  woven  by  the 
stone-mason  ! 

We  pass  along  a  sterile  country,  with 
chalky  rocks  cropping  from  the  ground 
and  making  our  way  increasingly  dif- 
ficult. All  is  dry  as  a  lime-basket.  The 
climate  here,  completely  wanting  in  the 
sense  of  a  just  medium,  knows  no  re- 
source between  the  utter  desiccation  of 
all  the  water-courses  in  summer  and  an 
outpouring  in  winter  which  carries  away 
trees,  crops  and  arable  earth,  presenting 
the  farmer  with  a  result  of  boulders  and 
sand.  The  rocks  sound  beneath  our 
animals'  feet  for  an  hour  or  two  :  we  dip 
into  a  ravine  and  attain  Bou-Kteun,  our 
first  Kabylian  town. 

It  is  night,  and  we  invoke  the  hos- 
pitality of  the  village  chief,  called  by 
the  Kabyles  the  amin.  Our  prayers  are 
not    refused.      The   amin   receives  the 


88 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


strangers,  not  so  much  from  a  feeling 
of  social  etiquette,  of  which  he  knows 
little,  as  from  his  religion,  which  com- 
mands him  to  receive  the  guest  as  the 
messenger  of  God.  He  comes  to  the 
threshold,  kisses  our  hands  without  ser- 
vility, waits  on  us  at  a  supper  which  he 
is  too  polite  to  share,  and  presents  us 
with  a  prayer  at  our  bedside.  Bou- 
Kteun,  situated  halfway  up  the  "  Red 
Plateau,"  guards  the  pass  called  the 
Gates  of  Iron.  It  is  an  uninteresting 
village,  the  official  house  being  alone 
respectable  amidst  a  town  of  huts.  As 
the  amin  accompanies  us  a  little  way 
outside  the  burgh,  we  remark,  among 
the  young  orchards,  stumps  of  olive  and 
fig  trees  sawn  away  at  the  base.  The 
amin  shows  them  with  sad  satire,  saying 
in  explanation,  "  French  Roumi :"  it  was 
the  Christian  French. 

That  is  the  term,  meaning  no  compli- 
ment, which  the  Kabyle  fits  to  all  Eu- 
ropeans alike.  In  vain  the  Frenchman, 
writhing  with  intellectual  repugnance, 
explains  that  he  is  not  a  Christian — that 
he  is  a  Voltairean,  a  creature  of  reason, 
an  illiimme.  The  Kabyle  continues  to 
call  him  a  Roumi,  which  will  bear  to  be 
translated  Romanist,  being  imitated  from 
the  word  Rome  and  applied  to  all  Catho- 
lics. These  same  tribes  doubtless  called 
Saint  Augustine  a  Roumi,  and  he  return- 
ed the  epithet  Barbari  or  Berbers — a 
name  which  the  emperors  applied  with 
vast  contempt  to  the  hordes  and  mon- 
grel population  of  exiles  and  convicts 
that  peopled  Mauritania,  and  which 
the  natives  retained  until  the  Arab  in- 
vasion, when  they  changed  Berber  for 
Kebai'le. 

The  Romans  conquered  the  shores 
and  the  plains.  You  find  none  of  their 
ruins  among  the  mountains,  where  the 
Berbers,  from  the  Roman  occupation  to 
the  French,  have  preserved  an  inde- 
pendence never  completely  subdued. 

The  Kabyle  villages  are  united  into 
federations.  If  these  federations  engage 
in  quarrels — which  is  by  no  means  rare 
— or  if  a  village  is  menaced  by  an 
enemy,  signals  are  placed  in  the  mina- 
rets to  appeal  to  the  towns  of  the  same 
party.      These  are  easily  seen,  for  all 


the  villages  are  on  hilly  crests  and  visible 
from  a  distance.  From  the  summit  of 
Taourit  el  Embrank  we  can  count  more 
than  twenty  of  these  Kabyle  towns, 
perched  on  the  peaks  around  us,  and 
separated  by  profound  chasms. 

Every  trait  points  out  the  distinction 
between  the  Kabyles  and  the  surround- 
ing Arabs.  The  Arabs  seek  laziness  as 
a  sovereign  good  ;  the  Kabyles  are  great 
artificers.  The  Arabs  imprison  their 
wives ;  the  Kabyle  women  are  almost 
as  free  as  our  own.  The  Kabylian  ad- 
herence to  the  Mohammedan  faith  is  but 
partial,  and  is  variegated  by  a  quantity 
of  superstitions  and  articles  of  belief 
indicating  quite  another  origin.  While 
the  Koran  proclaims  the  law  of  retalia- 
tion, eye  for  eye  and  tooth  for  tooth,  the 
more  humane  Kabyle  law  simply  exiles 
the  criminal  for  ever,  confiscating  his 
goods  to  the  community.  It  is  true,  the 
family  of  a  murdered  person  are  expect- 
ed to  pursue  the  homicide  with  all  the 
tenacity  of  a  Corsican  vendetta,  but  the 
tribal  laws  are  kept  singularly  clean  from 
the  ferocity  of  individual  habits.  A 
strange  thing,  indicating  probably  a  de- 
rivation from  times  at  least  as  early  as 
Augustine,  is  that  the  Kabyle  code  (a 
mixture,  like  all  primitive  codes,  of  law 
and  religion)  is  called  by  the  Greek  term 
canon  [kanoun).  An  institution  of  great 
protective  use,  in  practice,  is  the  safe- 
conduct,  or  anaya,  a  token  given  to  a 
guest,  traveler  or  proscript,  and  which 
protects  the  bearer  as  far  as  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  giver  extends  :  it  may 
be  a  gun,  a  stick,  a  bornouse  or  a  letter. 
The  anaya  is  the  sultan  of  the  Kabyles, 
doing  charity  and  raising  no  taxes — 
"the  finest  sultan  in  the  world,"  says 
the  native  proverb.  The  Kabyles  press 
into  all  the  towns  and  seaports  for  em- 
ployment with  the  same  independence 
as  if  they  were  a  neighboring  nationality. 
They  build  houses,  they  work  in  car- 
pentry, they  forge  weapons,  gun-barrels 
and  locks,  swords,  knives,  pickaxes, 
cards  for  wool,  ploughshares,  gun-stocks, 
shovels,  wooden  shoes,  and  frames  for 
weaving.  They  weave  neatly,  and  their 
earthenware  is  renowned.  In  addition, 
they  are  expert  and  shameless  counter- 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


89 


feiters.  Yes,  the  fact  must  be  admitted  : 
these  rugged  mountaineers,  so  proud, 
and,  according  to  their  own  code,  so 
honorable,  never  blush  to  prepare  imita- 
tions of  the  circulating  medium,  which 
they  only  know  as  an  appurtenance  and 
invention  of  their  civilized  conquerors. 


In  his  rude  hovel,  with  all  the  sublimities 
of  Nature  around  him,  this  child  of  the 
wilderness  looks  up  to  the  summits  of 
the  Atlas,  "with  peaky  tops  engrailed," 
and  immediately  thereafter  looks  down 
again  to  attend  to  the  engrailing  of  his 
neat  five-franc  pieces,  which  can  hardly 


TOBRIZ,   AN    ENEMY   OF   THE   GuILLOTINE. 


be  told  from  the  genuine.  This  multi- 
plication of  finance  was  punished  under 
the  beys  with  death.  The  bey  of  Con- 
stantina  arrested  in  one  day  the  men  of 
three  tribes  notorious  for  counterfeiting, 
and  decapitated  a  hundred  of  them. 
There  was  lately  to  be  seen  at  Constan- 
tina  the  executioner  who  was  charged 
with  this  punishment,  the  very  individual 
who  cut  off  the  ingenious  heads  of  all 
these  poor  money-makers,  and  did  not 


"cut  them  off  with  a  shilling."  He  ap- 
peared to  modern  visitors  as  a  modest 
coffee-house  keeper  in  the  Arab  quarters, 
who  would  serve  you,  for  two  cents,  a 
cup  of  coffee  with  the  hand  that  had 
wielded  the  yataghan.  He  was  an  old 
Turk,  with  wide  gray  moustaches,  dress- 
ed in  a  remarkable  and  theatrical  fash- 
ion. He  wore  a  yellow  turban  of  colossal 
size,  and  an  ample  orange  girdle  over  a 
dress  of  light  green.     Poor  Tobriz — that 


90 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


was  his  name — was  violently  opposed  to 
the  introduction  of  the  guillotine  in  Al- 


geria.    In  the  days  of  his  prosperity  an 
enormous  sabre  was  passed  through  his 


THE    IRON    GATES. 


flaming  girdle.  In  the  early  years  of 
the  French  conquest  Tcbriz  was  employ- 
ed in  the  decapitations,  which  were  exe- 


cuted with  a  saw,  and  must  have  been  a 
horrible  spectacle.  He  remembered  well 
the  execution  of  the  hundred  counter- 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


91 


feiters  in  one  night,  and  their  heads  ex- 
posed in  the  market. 

A  rapid  descent  from  Bou-Kteun  to 
the  bed  of  a  river  of  the  same  name, 
and  a  pursuit  of  the  latter  to  its  conflu- 
ence with  the  river  Biban,  lead  through 
impressive  ravines  to  the  Iron  Gates. 
The  waters  of  the  Biban,  impregnated 
with  magnesia,  leave  their  white  traces 
on  the  bottoms  of  the  precipices  which 
enclose  them.  The  mules  pick  their 
way  over  paths  of  terrible  inclination. 
At  length,  at  a  turn  in  the  overhanging 
reddish   cliffs,   where    a    hundred   men 


could  hold  in  check  an  entire  army,  we 
find  ourselves  in  front  of  the  first  gate. 
It  is  a  round  arch  four  yards  in  width, 
pierced  by  Nature  between  the  rocks. 
The  second  is  at  twenty  paces  off,  and 
two  others  are  found  at  a  short  distance. 
Between  the  first  and  second  we  ob- 
serve, chiseled  in  the  stone  above  the 
reach  of  the  water,  "L'Armee  Fratifcitse, 
1839,"  engraved  by  the  sappers  attach- 
ed to  the  army  of  the  duke  of  Orleans 
on  the  passage  of  the  expedition. 

(end  of  part  second.) 


THE    R  O  U  M  I     IX    K  A  B  Y  L  I  A . 


r.\KT    THIRD. 


THE   AMIN    OF    KAALA. 


EMERGING   from    these   gloomy 
canons,  and  passing  the  Beni-Man- 
sour,    the   village  of  Thasaerth  (where 
razors  and  guns  are  made),  Arzou  (full 
of  blacksmiths),  and  some  other  towns, 
92 


we  enter  the  Beni-Aidel,  where  numerous 
white  villages,  wreathed  with  ash  trees,  lie 
crouched  like  nests  of  eggs  on  the  sum- 
mits of  the  primary  mountains,  with  the 
magnificent  peaks  of  Atlas  cut  in  sap- 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


9Z 


phire  upon  the  sky  above  them.  At  the 
back  part  of  an  amphitheatre  of  rocky- 
summits,  Hamet,  the  guide,  points  out  a 


Httle  city  perched  on  a  precipice,  which 
is  certainly  the  most  remarkable  site, 
outside  of  opera-scenery,  that  we  have 


KAI.AA. 


ever  seen.  It  is  Kalaa,  a  town  of  three 
thousand  inhabitants,  divided  into  four 
quarters,  which   contrive,  in   that  con- 


fined situation,  to  be  perpetually  dispu- 
ting with  each  other,  although  a  battle 
would   disperse  the  whole   of  the  tax- 


94 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


payers  over  the  edges.     Although  ap- 
parently  inaccessible   but    by   balloon, 


Kalaa  may  be  approached  in  passing  by 
Bogni.     It  is  hard  to  give  an  idea  of  the 


COURTYARD    IN    KALAA. 


difficulties  in  climbing  up  from  Bogni 
to  the  city,  where  the  hardiest  traveler 
feels  vertigo  in  picking  his  way  over  a 


path  often  but  a  yard  wide,  with  perpen- 
diculars on  either  hand.  Finally,  after 
many  strange  feelings  in  your  head  and 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


95 


along  your   spinal  marrow,  you  thank 
Heaven  that  you  are  safe  in  Kalaa. 
The  inhabitants  of  Kalaa  pass  for  rich, 


the  women  promenade  without  veils  and 
covered  with  jewels,  and  the  city  is  clean, 
which  is  rare  in  Kabylia.     There  are  four 


OURIDA,    THE   LITTLE    ROSE. 


amins  (or  sheikhs)  in  Kalaa,  to  one  of 
whom  we  bear  a  letter  of  introduction. 
The  anaya  never  fails,  and  we  are  re- 


ceived with  cordiality,  mixed  with  state- 
liness,  by  an  imposing  old  man  in  a 
white  bornouse.  ''Efitaaminf  asks  the 


96 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


Roumi.  He  answers  by  a  sign  of  the 
head,  and  reads  our  missive  with  care. 
Immediately  we  are  made  at  home,  but 
conversation  languishes.  He  knows 
nothing  but  the  pure  Kabyle  tongue, 
and  cannot  speak  the  mixed  language 
of  the  coasts,  called  Sabir,  which  is  the 
pigeon-Fiench  of  Algiers 
and  Philippeville. 

"Enia  sabir  el  arbi?" — 
"Knowest  thou  Arabic?" 
asks  our  host. 

"ATa/^a^/i"  — "No,"  we 
reply.  "Eftta  sabir  el 
Ingles  V  —  "  Canst  thou 
speak  English  ?" 

''Makac/i' — "Nay,"  an- 
swers the  beautiful  o  1  d 
sage,  after  which  conversa- 
tion naturally  languishes. 

But  the  next  morning, 
after  the  richest  and  most 
assiduous  entertainment, 
we  see  the  little  daughter 
of  the  amin  playing  in  the 
court,  attended  by  a  ne- 
gress.  The  child-language 
is  much  the  same  in  all 
nations,  and  in  five  min- 
utes, in  this  land  of  the 
Barbarians,  on  this  terri- 
ble rock,  we  are  pleasing 
the  infant  with  wiles  learnt 
to  please  little  English-speaking  rogues 
across  the  Atlantic. 

The  amin's  daughter,  a  child  of  six 
years,  forms  with  her  slave  a  perfect 
contrast.  She  is  rosy  and  white,  her 
mouth  is  laughing,  her  peeping  eyes  are 
laughing  too.  What  strikes  us  partic- 
ularly is  the  European  air  that  she  has, 
with  her  square  chin,  broad  forehead, 
robust  neck  and  sturdy  body.  A  glance 
at  her  father  by  daylight  reveals  the 
same  familiar  type.  Take  away  his 
Arab  vestments,  and  he  would  almost 
pass  for  a  brother  of  Heinrich  Heine. 
His  child  might  play  among  the  towers 
of  the  Rhine  or  on  the  banks  of  the 
Moselle,  and  not  seem  to  be  outside  her 
native  country.  We  have  here,  in  a 
strong  presentment,  the  types  which 
seem  to  connect  some  particular  tribes 
of   the    Kabyles   with    the   Vandal   in- 


vaders, who,  becoming  too  much  ener- 
vated in  a  tropical  climate  to  preserve 
their  warlike  fame  or  to  care  for  retiring, 
amalgamated  with  the  natives.  The  in- 
habitants on  the  slopes  of  the  Djordjora, 
reasonably  supposed  to  have  descended 
from    the   warriors    of   Genseric,    build 


KABYLE  SHOWING   GERMANIC   ORIGIN. 


houses  which  amaze  the  traveler  by  their 
utter  unlikeness  to  Moorish  edifices  and 
their  resemblance  to  European  struc- 
tures. They  make  bornouses  which  sell 
all  over  Algeria,  Morocco,  Tunis  and 
Tripoli,  and  have  factories  like  those  of 
the  Pisans  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Contrast  the  square  and  stolid  Kabyle 
head  shown  in  the  engraving  on  this 
page  with  the  type  of  the  Algerian  Arab 
on  page  494.  The  more  we  study  them, 
or  even  rigidly  compare  our  Arab  with 
the  amin  of  Kalaa,  the  more  distinction 
we  shall  see  between  the  Bedouin  and 
either  of  his  Kabyle  compatriots.  The 
amin,  although  rigged  out  as  a  perfect 
Arab,  reveals  the  square  jaw,  the  firm 
and  large-cut  mouth,  the  breadth  about 
the  temples,  of  the  Germanic  tribes :  it 
is  a  head  of  much  distinction,  but  it 
shows  a  large  remant  of  the  purely  ani- 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


97 


mal  force  which  entered  into  the  strength 
of  the  Vandals  and  distinguished  the 
Germans  of  Caesar's  day.  As  for  the 
Kabyle  of  more  vulgar  position,  take 
away  his  haik  and  his  bornouse,  trim 
tho  points  of  his  beard,  and  we  have  a 
ptrfect  German  head.     Beside  these  we 


r^MTMi 


v^-^,'"  m''  \ 


TYPE   OF   ALGERIAN   ARAB. 

set  a  representative  Arab  head,  sketched 
in  the  streets  of  Algiers.  See  the  feline 
characteristics,  the  pointed,  drooping 
moustache  and  chin-tuft,  the  extreme 
retrocession  of  the  nostrils,  the  thin, 
weak  and  cruel  mouth,  the  retreating 
forehead,  the  filmed  eye,  the  ennui,  the 
terrestrial  detachment,  of  the  Arab.  He 
is  a  dandy,  a  creature  of  alternate  flash 
and  dejection,  a  wearer  of  ornaments,  a 
man  proud  of  his  striped  hood  and  orna- 
mental agcraffes.  The  Kabvle,  of  stur- 
dier  stuff,  hands  his  ragged  garment  to 
his  son  like  a  tattered  flag,  bidding  him 
cherish  and  be  proud  of  the  rents  made 
by  Roumi  bayonets. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Kabyles, 
with  a  thousand  faults,  are  far  fi-om  the 
fatalism,    the   abuse   of  force   and  that 
7 


merging  of  individualism  which  are 
found  with  the  Islamite  wherever  he  ap- 
pears. Whence,  then,  have  come  these 
more  humane  tendencies,  charitable  cus- 
toms and  movements  of  compassion  ? 
There  are  respectable  authorities  who 
consider  them,  with  emotion,  as  feeble 
gleams  of  the  great  Chris- 
tian light  which  formerly, 
at  its  purest  period,  illumi- 
nated Northern  Africa. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  some 
who  have  long  been  con- 
versant with  the  Kabyles 
that  the  deeper  you  dive 
into  their  social  mysteries 
the  more  traces  you  find 
of  their  having  once  been 
a  Christian  people.  They 
observe,  for  instance,  a  set 
of  statutes  derived  from 
their  ancestors,  and  which, 
on  points  like  suppression 
of  thefts  and  murders,  do 
not  agree  with  the  Koran. 
We  have  spoken  of  their 
name  forthe  law — katioun  : 
evidently  the  resemblance 
of  this  to  y.avwv  must  be 
more  than  accidental. 
Another  sign  is  the  mark 
of  the  cross,  tattooed  on 
the  women  of  many  of  the 
tribes.  These  fleshly  in- 
scriptions are  an  incarnate 
evidence  of  the  Christian  past  of  some 
of  the  Kabyles,  particularly  such  as  are 
probably  of  Vandal  origin.  They  are 
found  especially  among  the  tribes  of  the 
Gouraya,  are  probably  a  result  of  the 
Vandal  invasion,  and  consist  in  the 
mark  or  sign  of  the  cross,  half  an  inch 
in  dimension,  on  their  forehead,  cheeks 
and  the  palms  of  their  hands.  It  ap- 
pears that  all  the  natives  who  were 
found  to  be  Christians  were  freed  from 
certain  taxes  by  their  Aryan  conquerors  ; 
and  it  was  arranged  that  they  should 
profess  their  faith  by  making  the  cross 
on  their  persons,  which  practice  was  thus 
universalized.  The  tattooing  is  of  a 
beautiful  blue  color,  and  is  more  orna- 
mental than  the  patches  worn  by  our 
grandmothers. 


98 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


Our  final  inference,  then,  is,  that  the 
Kabyles  preserve  strong  traces  of  cer- 
tain primitive  customs,  which  in  certain 
cases  are  attributable  to  a  Christian 
origin. 

A  true  city  of  romance,  a  Venice  iso- 
lated by  waves  of  mountains,  and  built 
upon  piles  whose  beams  are  of  living 
crystal,  Kalaa,  all  but  inaccessible,  at- 


tracts the  tourist  as  the  roc's  ^'g^  attract- 
ed Aladdin's  wife,  tor  ages  it  has  been 
a  city  of  refuge,  a  sanctuary  for  person 
and  property  in  a  land  of  anarchy.  No- 
where else  are  the  proud  Kabyles  so 
skillful  and  industrious  —  nowhere  else 
are  their  women  so  much  like  Western 
women  in  beauty  and  freedom. 

The  Kabyle  woman  preserves  the  lib- 


KABYLE   WOMEN. 


erty  which  the  female  of  the  Orient 
possessed  in  the  old  times,  before  the 
jealousy  of  Mohammed  made  her  a  bird 
in  a  cage,  or,  as  the  Arab  poet  says,  "an 
attar  which  must  not  be  given  to  the 
winds."  In  Kabylia  the  women  talk 
and  gossip  with  the  men  :  their  villages 
present  pretty  spectacles  at  sunset,  when 
groups  of  workers  and  gossipers  mingled 
are  seen  laughing,  chatting  and  singing 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  drum. 
Some  of  these  women  are  really  hand- 
some, and  are  freely  decorated,  even  in 
public,  with  the  singular  enamels  which 
are  their  peculiar  manufacture,  and  with 
threads  of  gold  in  their  graceful  che- 
loukas  or  tunics. 

But  Kalaa,  like  the  picturesque  "  Peas- 


ant's Nest"  described  by  Cowper  in  his 
Task,  pays  one  natural  penalty  for  the 
rare  beauty  of  its  site.  It  pants  on  a 
rock  whose  gorges  of  lime  are  the  seat 
of  a  perpetual  thirst.  In  vain  have  the 
suffering  natives  sunk  seven  basins  in 
one  alley  of  the  town,  the  cleft  separating 
the  quarter  of  the  Son  of  David  from 
that  of  the  children  of  Jesus  [Ai'ssa). 
The  water  only  trickles  by  drops,  and, 
though  plentiful  in  winter,  deserts  them 
altogether  in  the  season  when  their  air- 
hung  gardens,  planted  in  earth  brought 
up  from  the  plains,  need  it  the  most. 
As  the  mellowing  of  the  season  brings 
with  it  its  plague  of  aridity,  recourse  is 
had  to  the  river  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ravine,    the   Oued-Hamadouch.      Then 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


99 


from   morning    to    night    perpendicular  I  are  seen  descending  and  ascending  the 
chains  of  diminutive,  shrewd   donkeys  |  precipice  with  great  jars  slung  in  net- 


lli  r  f/.  tV_A  ?^ 
KABYLE   GROUP. 


work.  But  the  Hamadouch  itself  in  the 
sultry  season  is  but  a  thread  of  water, 
easily  exhausted  by  the  needs  of  a  pop- 


ulation counting  three  thousand  mouths. 
Then  the  folks  of  Kalaa  would  die  of 
thirst  were  it  not  for  the  foresight  of  a 


100 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


marabout  of  celebrity,  whom  chance  or 
miracle  caused  to  discover  a  hidden 
spring  at  the  bottom  of  the  rock.  By 
the  aid  of  subscriptions  among  the  rich 
he  built  a  fountain  over  the  sources  of 
the  spring. 

It  is  a  small  Moorish  structure,  with 


two  stone  pilasters  supporting  a  pointed 
arch.  In  the  centre  is  an  inscription 
forbidding  to  the  pious  admirers  of  the 
marabout  the  use  of  the  fountain  while 
a  drop  remains  in  the  Hamadouch.  To 
assist  their  fidelity,  the  spring  is  effect- 
ually closed  except  when  all  other  sources 


f?,c,.*. 


yusef's  fountain. 


have  peremptorily  failed,  in  the  united 
opinion  of  three  amins  (Kabyle  sheikhs). 
When  the  amins  give  permission  the 
chains  which  restrain  the  mechanism 
are  taken  off,  and  the  conduits  are  open- 
ed by  means  of  iron  handles  operating 
on  small  valves  of  the  same  metal.  In 
the  grreat  droughts  the  fountain  oT  Mara- 
bout  Yusef-ben-Khouia  may  be  seen  sur- 
rounded with  a  throng  of  astute,  white- 
nosed  asses,  waiting  in  philosophic  calm 
amid  the  excitement  and  struggle  of  the 
attendant  water-bearers. 

Seen  hence,  from  the  base  of  the  pre- 


cipice, where  abrupt  pathways  trace  their 
zigzags  of  white  lightning  down  the  rock, 
and  where  no  vegetation  relieves  the 
harsh  stone,  the  town  of  Kalaa  seems 
some  accursed  city  in  a  Dantean  Inferno. 
Seen  from  the  peaks  of  Bogni,  on  the 
contrary,  the  nest  of  white  houses  cov- 
ered with  red  tiles,  surmounted  by  a  glit- 
tering minaret  and  by  the  poplars  which 
decorate  the  porch  of  the  great  mosque, 
has  an  aspect  as  graceful  as  unique.  In 
a  vapory  distance  floats  off  from  the  eye 
the  arid  and  thankless  country  of  the 
Beni-Abbes.     On  every  level  spot,  on 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


lOl 


every  plateau,  is  detected  a  clinging 
white  town,  encircled  with  a  natural 
wreath  of  trees  and  hedges.  They  are 
all  visible  one  from  the  other,  and  perk 
up  their  heads  apparently  to  signal  each 
other  in  case  of  sudden  appeal :  it  is  by 
a  telegraphic  system  from  distance  to 
distance  that  the  Kabyles  are  collected 


What  a  strange  landscape  !    And  what 
a  race,  brooding  over  its   nests  in  the 
eagles'  crags  !     Where  on  earth  can  be 
found   so  peculiar   a   people,   guarding 
their  individuality  from  the  hoariest  an- 
tiquity, and  snatching  the  arts  into  the 
clefts   of  the   mountains,  to  cover  the 
languid  races  of  the  plains  with  luxuries 
borrowed  from  the  clouds  !     The  jew- 
elry and  the  tissues,  the  bornouses  and 
haiks,  the  blacksmith-work  and  am- 
munition, which  fill  the  markets  of  Mo- 
rocco, Tunis  and  the  countries  toward 
the  desert,  are  scattered  from  off  these 
crags,  which  Nature  has  forbidden  to 
"man  by  her  very  strongest   prohibi- 
tions. 

We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  what 
is  known  as  Grand  Kabylia.  The 
coast  from  Algiers  eastward  toward 
Philippe  ville,  and  the  relations  of  some 
of  the  towns  through  which  we  have 
passed,  may  be  understood  from  the 
following  sketch : 


:  Algiers  *  Dellys. 


Bougie. 


Kalaa. 


Aumale.  * 


Setif.  * 


THE    LATEST    IMPROVED    REAPER. 

for  their  incorrigible  revolutions.  Two 
ruined  towers  are  pointed  out,  called  by 
the  Kabyles  the  Bull's  Horns,  which  in 
1847  poured  down  from  their  battlements 
a  cataract  of  fire  on  Bugeaud's  chas- 
seurs  d' Orleans,  who  climbed  to  take 
them,  singing  their  favorite  army-catch 
as  well  as  they  could  for  want  of  breath  : 

As-tu  vu  la  casquette,  la  casquette, 
As-tu  vu  la  casquette  du  Pere  Bugeaud? 

Far  away,  at  the  foot  of  the  Azrou-n'hour, 
an  immense  peak  lifting  its  breadth  of 
snow-capped  red  into  the  pure  azure,  the 
populous  town  of  Azrou  is  spread  out 
over  a  platform  almost  inaccessible. 


The  scale  of  distances   may  be  im- 
agined from  the  fact  that  it  is  eighty- 
seven  and  a  half  miles  by  sea  from 
Algiers  to  Bougie.  The  country  known 
as  Grand  Kabylia,  or  Kabylia  par  ex- 
cellence, is  that  part  of  Algeria  form- 
ing the   great   square  whose   corners 
are  Dellys,  Aumale,  Setif  and   Bougie. 
Though    these    are    fictitious   and    not 
geographical  limits,  they  are  the  near- 
est approach  that  can  be  made  to  fixing 
the   nation    on   a   map.      Besides   their 
Grand  Kabylia,  the  ramifications  of  the 
tribe  are  rooted  in  all  the  habitable  parts 
of  the  Atlas  Mountains  between  Moroc- 
co  and  Tunis,  controlling  an  irregular 
portion  of  Africa  which  it  is  impossible  to 
define.     It  will  be  seen  that  the  country 
of  the  tribe  is  not  deprived  of  seaboard 
nor  completely  mountainous.     The  two 
ports  of  Dellys  and  Bougie  were  their 
sea-cities,  and  gave  the  French  infinite 


I02 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


trouble  :  the  plain  between  the  two  is 
the  great  wheat-growing  country,  where 
the  Kabyle  farmer  reaps  a  painful  crop 
with  his  saw-edged  sickle. 

In  this  trapezoid  the  fire  of  rebellion 
never  sleeps  long.  As  we  write  comes 
the  report  of  seven  hundred  French 
troops  surrounded  by  ten  thousand  na- 


tives in  the  southernmost  or  Atlas  region 
of  Algeria.  The  bloody  lessons  of  last 
year  have  not  taught  the  Kabyle  sub- 
mission. It  seems  that  his  nature  is 
quite  untamable.  He  can  die,  but  he  is 
in  his  very  marrow  a  republican. 
(end  of  part  third.) 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


103 


THE    ROUMI    IN    KABYLIA 


CONCLUDING   PART. 


■    •—    lor/i''' 


AKD-KL-KADI.R    IN    KAIIYLIA. 


A  NOBLE  life,  whose  course  belongs 
to  the  subject  of  these  pages,  is, 
while  they  are  preparing,  apparently 
drawing  to  a  close.  The  severe  illness 
now  reported  of  Abd-el-Kader,  coming 
upon  old  age,  disappointment,  war  and 
the  lassitude  of  a  great  purpose  foiled, 
can  have  but  one  result.  Dimmed  to- 
day, as  our  hurrying  century  so  rapidly 
dims  her  brightest  renowns,  Abd-el- 
Kader's  existence  has  only  to  cease  and 
his  memory  will  assume  the  sacred 
splendor  of  the  tomb. 

Hapless  Washington  of  a  betrayed 
revolution  !  In  these  latter  days  of  en- 
forced quiet  in  Palestine  how  his  early 
scenes  of  African  experience  must  have 


flooded  his  mind! — his  birth,  sixty-six 
years  ago,  in  a  family  group  of  Moslem 
saints ;  the  teachings  of  his  beautiful 
mother  Leila  and  of  his  marabout  father ; 
his  pilgrimage  when  eight  years  old  to 
Mecca,  and  his  education  in  Italy ;  his 
visions  among  the  tombs,  and  the  crown 
of  magic  light  which  was  seen  on  his 
brows  when  he  began  to  taste  the  en- 
chanted apple;  then,  with  adolescence, 
the  burning  sense  of  infidel  tyranny  that 
made  his  home  at  Mascara  seem  only  a 
cage,  barred  upon  him  by  the  unclean 
Franks ;  and  soon,  while  still  a  youth, 
his  amazing  election  as  emir  of  Mascara 
and  sultan  of  Oran,  at  a  moment  when 
the  prophet-chief  had   just  four  oiikias 


I04 


THE   KOUMI  IN  KABVLIA. 


(half-dimes)  tied  into  the  corner  of  his 
bornouse ! 

"  God  will  send  me  others,"  said  young 
Abd-el-Kader. 


The  tourist  remembers  the  trinity-por- 
trait of  him,  by  Maxime  David,  in  the 
Luxembourg  Gallery  at  Paris,  where  his 
face,  framed  in  its  white  hood,  is  seen 


*  "'^^H? 


AN    ACHA    OK    KAKYLIA    HUNTING    WHH     IHK    FALCON. 


in  full,  in  profile  and  in  three-quarters      more  authentically  in  the  terms  of  one 


view.      The   visage    is   aquiline,    olive- 
tinted,  refined;  but  we  can  describe  it 


of  his  enemies.  Lieutenant  de  France, 
who  became  his  prisoner  in   1836,  and 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


105 


who  followed  his  movements  for  five 
months,  taking  down  his  daily  talk  and 
habits  hke  a  Boswell,  but  leaving  noth- 


ing in  his  narrative  that  is  not  to  the 
sultan's  credit.  Of  Abd-el-Kader  at 
twenty-eight  the  lieutenant  says  :   "  His 


THE   DISCIPLES    OF   TOFAIL. 


face  is  long  and  deadly  pale,  his  large 
black  eyes  are  soft  and  languishing,  his 
mouth  small  and  delicate,  and  his  nose 


rather  aquiline:  his  beard  is  thin,  but 
jet-black,  and  he  wears  a  small  mous- 
tache, which  gives  a  martial  character 


io6 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


to  his  soft,  delicate  face,  and  becomes 
him  vastly.  His  hands  are  small  and 
exquisitely  formed,  and  his  feet  equally 
beautiful."  Every  interlocutor  leaves  a 
similar  portrait,  impressing  upon  the 
mind  the  image  of  some  warrior-saint 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  born  too  late,  and 


beating  out  his  noble  fanaticism  against 
our  century  of  machines  and  chicanery. 
Himself,  according  to  some  accounts, 
a  Berber,  the  young  marabout  early  saw 
the  importance  of  inducing  the  Kabyles 
to  join  with  him  and  his  Arabs  in  expel- 
ling the  French.     He  affiliated  himself 


A    KOUKBA,    UR    MARABOUT  S    TOMB. 


with  the  religious  order  of  Ben-abd-er- 
Rhaman,  a  saint  whose  tomb  is  one  of 
the  sacred  places  of  Kabylia;  and  it  is 
certain  that  the  college  of  this  order  fur- 
nished him  succor  in  men  and  money. 
He  visited  the  Kabyles  in  their  rock- 
built  villages,  casting  aside  his  military 
pomp  and  coming  among  them  as  a 
simple  pilgrim.  If  the  Kabyles  had 
received  him  better,  he  could  have 
shown  a  stouter  front  to  the  enemy. 
But  the  mountain  Berbers,  utterly  un- 
used to  co-operation  and  subordination, 
met  him  with  surprise  and  distrust. 

At  least,  such  is  the  account  of  Gen- 
eral Daumas  :  in  this  interesting  relation 
we  are  forced  to  depend  on  the  French. 
Daumas,  amply  provided  with  docu- 
ments,   letters    and    evidence,    has    ar- 


ranged in  his  work  on  La  Grande  Ka- 
bylie  the  principal  evidence  we  possess 
of  this  epoch  of  Abd-el-Kader's  life. 

The  chief  appeared  in  1836  at  Bordj- 
Boghni  and  at  Si-Ali-ou-Moussa  among 
the  mountains.  The  Kabyle  tribes  vis- 
ited him  in  multitudes.  He  addressed 
them  at  the  door  of  his  tent,  and  these 
rude  mountaineers  found  themselves 
face  to  face  with  that  saintly  sallow  vis- 
age, those  long  gazelle  eyes  and  the 
prophetic  countenance  framed  in  its 
apostolic  beard.  Raising  his  arms  in 
the  attitude  of  Raphael's  Paul  at  Lystra, 
he  said  simply,  "  I  am  the  thorn  which 
Allah  has  placed  in  the  eye  of  the 
Franks.  And  if  you  will  help  me  I  will 
send  them  weeping  into  the  sea." 

But  when  it  came  to  a  demand  for 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


107 


supplies,   the    Kabyles,    says    Daumas, 
utterly  refused. 

"You  have  come  as  a  pilgrim,"  said 
their  amins,  "and  we  have  fed  you  with 
kouskoussu.  If  you  were  to  come  as  a 
chief,  v^ishing  to  lay  his  authority  on  us, 
instead  of  white  kouskoussu  we  should 


treat  you  to  black  kouskoussu "  (gun- 
powder). 

Abd-el-Kader,  without  losing  the  se- 
renity of  the  marabout,  argued  with  the 
Kabyles,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining 
their  reverence  and  adhesion  ;  but  when 
he  mounted  his  horse  to  "o  the  amins 


KAKYLE   MEN. 


significantly  told  him  to  come  among 
then,  always  as  a  simple  pilgrim,  de- 
mandmg  hospitality  and  white  kous- 
koussu. 

At  Thizzi-Ouzzou  he  met  the  tribe  of 
Ameraouas,  who  promised  to  submit  to 
his  authority  as  soon  as  the  fractions 
surrounding  that  centre  should  do  so. 
The  Sons  of  Aicha  received  him  with 
honor  and  games  of  horsemanship.  At 
the  camp  of  Ben  Salem  the  chiefs  of 
several  tribes  came  to  render  homage  to 
the  noble  marabout,  descendant  of  Ber- 
oer  ancestry  and  of  the  Prophet.  From 
thence  he  sought  tribes  still  more  wild, 
discarding  his  horse  and  appearing 
among   the  villagers  as  a  simple  foot- 


pilgrim.  The  natives  approached  him 
in  throngs,  each  family  bearing  a  great 
dish  of  rancid  kouskoussu.  Laying 
the  platters  before  his  tent  and  plant- 
ing their  clubs  in  them,  all  vociferated, 
"Eat!  thou  art  our  guest;"  and  the 
chieftain  was  constrained  to  taste  of 
each.  Finally,  near  Bougie  he  happen- 
ed to  receive  a  courier  sent  by  the 
French  commandant.  The  Kabyles  im- 
mediately believed  him  to  be  in  treason- 
able communication  with  the  enemy,  and 
he  was  forced  to  retire. 

The  young  chief  was  in  fact  at  that 
time  in  peaceful  communication  with  the 
French,  having  made  himself  respected 
bv   them   in   the  west,  while  thev  were 


io8 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


attending  to  the  subjugation  of  Constan- 
tina  and  founding  of  riiilippeville  in  the 
east.     Protected  bv  the  trcatv  of  Taafna 


in  1837,  Abd-el-Kader  was  at  leisure  to 
attempt  the  consolidation  of  his  little 
emiiire    and    the    fnsinn  of   the  jealous 


/lii  ill  '*    \  i4^1|( 


'    1  ;*-7i>^.   


KABYLE   WOMEN. 


tribes   which    composed    it.      The   low  !  byles,  who  would  respect  his  religious  but 


moral  condition  of  his  Arabs,  who  were 
for  the  most  part  thieves  and  cowards, 
and  the  rude  individuality  of  his  Ka- 


scoff  at  his  political  claims,  made  the 
task  of  the  leader  a  difficult  one.  To 
the  Kabyles  he  confided  the  care  of  his 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


109 


saintly  reputation,  renouncing  their  con- 
tributions, and  asking  only  for  their 
prayers  as  a  Berber  and  as  a  khouan  of 
the  order  of  Ben-abd-er-Rhainan.  For 
a  few  years  his  power  increased,  without 
one  base  measure,  without  any  soilure 
on  the  blazon  of  increasing  prosperity. 
In  1840  the  sultan  of  Oran,  at  the  zenith 
of  his  influence,  swept  the  plains  beneath 
the  Atlas  with  his  nomad  court,  defend- 
ed by  two  hundred  and  fifty  horsemen. 
Passing  his  days  in  reviewing  his  troops 
and  in  actions  of  splendid  gallantry,  he 
resumed  the  humility  of  the  saint  at 
evening  prayers  :  his  palace  of  a  night 
received  him,  watched  by  thirty  negro 
tent-guards  ;  and  here  he  sheltered  his 
lowly  head,  whose  attitude  was  perpet- 
ually bowed  by  the  habitual  weight  of 
his  cowl.  The  French  soon  became 
jealous,  and  encroached  upon  their 
treaty.  The  duke  of  Orleans,  we  are 
told,  had  Abd-el-Kader's  seal  counter- 
feited by  a  Jewish  coiner  at  Oran,  and 
with  passports  thus  stamped  sent  scout- 
ing-parties  toward  the  sultan's  dominions, 
protected  by  the  sultan's  forged  safe- 
conduct.  Open  conflict  followed,  and  a 
succession  of  French  razzias.  In  1845, 
Colonels  Pelissier  and  St.  Arnaud,  under 
Marshal  Bugeaud,  conducted  that  expe- 
dition of  eternal  infamy  during  which 
seven  hundred  of  Abd-el-Kader's  Arabs 
were  suffocated  in  a  cave-sanctuary  of 
the  Dahra.  This  sickening  measure  was 
put  in  force  at  a  cul-de-sac ,  where  a  few 
hours'  blockade  would  have  command- 
ed a  peaceful  surrender. 

"  The  fire  was  kept  up  throughout  the 
night,  and  when  the  day  had  fully  dawn- 
ed the  then  expiring  embers  were  kicked 
aside,  and  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  time 
had  elapsed  to  render  the  air  of  the 
silent  cave  breathable,  some  soldiers 
were  directed  to  ascertain  how  matters 
were  within.  They  were  gone  but  a  few 
minutes,  and  then  came  back,  we  are 
told,  pale,  trembling,  terrified,  hardly 
daring,  it  seemed,  to  confront  the  light 
of  day.  No  wonder  they  trembled  and 
looked  pale  !  They  had  found  all  the 
Arabs  dead — men,  women,  children,  all 
dead! — had  beheld  them  lying  just  as 
death  had  found  and  left  them — the  old 


man  grasping  his  gray  beard  ;  the  dead 
mother  clasping  her  dead  child  with  the 
steel  gripe  of  the  last  struggle,  when  all 
gave  way  but  her  strong  love." 

Abd-el-Kader's  final  defeat  in  1848 
was  due  less  to  the  prowess  of  Lamori- 
ciere  and  Bugeaud  than  to  the  cunning 
of  his  traitorous  ally,  the  sultan  of  Mo- 
rocco, who,  after  having  induced  many 
of  the  princely  saint's  adherents  to  de- 
sert, finally  drove  him  by  force  of  num- 
bers over  the  French  frontier.  Confront- 
ing the  duke  of  Aumale  on  the  Morocco 
borders,  he  made  a  gallant  fight,  but 
lost  half  his  best  men  in  warding  off  an 
attack  of  the  Mencer  Kabyles.  Fatigued 
now  with  a  long  effort  against  over- 
whelming pressure,  and  world-weary, 
he  met  the  duke  at  Nemours,  on  the  sea- 
coast  close  to  the  Morocco  line.  Depos- 
iting his  sandals,  Arab-fashion,  outside 
the  French  head-quarters,  he  awaited  the 
duke's  signal  to  sit  down. 

"  I  should  have  wished  to  do  this 
sooner,"  said  the  broken  chief,  "but  I 
have  awaited  the  hour  decreed  by  Al- 
lah. I  ask  the  aman  (pardon)  of  the 
king  of  the  French  for  my  family  and 
for  myself." 

Louis  Philippe  could  not  come  in  con- 
tact with  this  pure  spirit  without  an 
exhibition  of  Frankish  treachery,  like 
tinder  illuminating  its  foulness  at  the 
striking  of  steel.  The  sultan's  surrender 
was  conditioned  on  the  freedom  to  retire 
to  Egypt.  The  French  government  no 
sooner  secured  him  than  it  treacherously 
sent  him  to  prison,  first  to  the  castle  of 
Pau,  then  to  that  of  Amboise  near  Blois, 
where  he  was  kept  from  1848  to  1852, 
when  the  late  emperor  made  an  early 
use  of  his  imperial  power  to  set  him  at 
liberty.  Since  his  freedom,  at  Constan- 
tinople, Broussa  and  Damascus  the  ex- 
sultan  has  continued  to  practice  the  rig- 
ors and  holiness  of  the  Oriental  saint, 
proving  his  catholic  spirit  by  protecting 
the  Christians  from  Turkish  injustice, 
and  awaiting  with  the  deep  fatigue  of  a 
martyr  the  moment  destined  to  unite  his 
soul  with  the  souls  of  Washington,  Boz- 
zaris  and  L'Ouverture. 

This  noble  life,  which  impinges  a  mo- 
ment on  our  course  through  Kabylia,  is 


I  lO 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


surely  the  most  epical   of  our  century,   j   lack   of  a    hero    while   Abd-el-Kader's 
which  can   never  be  reproached  for  the  I   name  is  remembered. 


DEFILE    OF  THIFILKOULT. 


The  descent  from  the  rock-perched  I  the  first  plateau,  our  Roumi  traveler  and 
city  of  Kalaa  having  been  made  in  safe-  his  guides  arrive  in  a  few  hours  at  the 
ty,  and  the  animals  being  remounted  at  I  modern,    fortified,    but    altogether    Ka- 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


1 1 1 


bylian  stronghold  of  Akbou.  Here  a 
letter  from  a  French  personage  of  im- 
portance gives  us  the  acquaintance  of  a 
Kabyle  family  of  the  highest  rank. 

The  ancestors  of  Ben-Ali-Cherif,  re- 
motely descended  from  Mohammed 
through  one  of  his  sisters,  were  of  Ka- 
bvlian  race,  and  one  of  them,  settled  in 
Chellata,  near  Akbou,  founded  there  a 
prosperous  college  of  the  Oriental  style. 
Ben-Ali-Cherif,  born  in  Chellata  and 
residing  at  Akbou,  receives  the  tourist 
with  a  natural  icy  dignity  which  only  a 
czar  among  the  sovereigns  of  Europe 
could  hope  to  equal :  those  who  have 
but  seen  Arabs  of  inferior  class  can  form 
no  notion  of  the  distinction  and  lofty 
gravity  of  the  chiefs  of  a  grand  house 
(or  of  a  grand  tent,  as  they  are  called)  : 
the  Kabyle  noble  is  quite  as  superb  as 
the  Arab. 

Ben-Ali  seats  us  at  a  rich  table  cover- 
ed with  viands  half  French  and  half 
Oriental :  a  beautiful  youth,  his  son, 
resembling  a  girl  with  his  blue  head- 
drapery  and  slim  white  hands,  places 
himself  at  table,  and  attracts  the  con- 
versation of  the  guest.  The  young  man 
answers  in  monosyllables  and  with  his 
large  eyes  downcast,  and  the  agha  sig- 
nificantly observes,  "You  will  excuse 
him  if  he  does  not  answer :  he  is  not 
used  to  talk  before  his  father." 

The  host,  disposing  of  the  time  of  his 
guests,  has  arranged  a  series  of  diver- 
sions. The  valley  of  the  river  Sahel  is 
full  of  boars,  and  panthers  and  monkeys 
abound  in  the  neighboring  spurs  of  the 
Zouaouas.  While  the  Roumi  are  ex- 
amining his  orchards  of  oranges  and 
pomegranates  the  agha's  courtyard  fills 
wi'h  guests,  magnificent  sheikhs  on  Bar- 
bary  horses,  armed  with  inlaid  guns. 
These  are  all  entertained  for  the  night, 
together  with  the  usual  throng  of  para- 
sites, who  choke  his  doors  like  the  clients 
of  the  rich  Roman  in  Horace. 

At  sunrise  the  party  is  mounted.  The 
mare  of  the  agha,  a  graceful  creature 
whose  veins  form  an  embroidery  over 
her  coat  of  black  satin,  is  caparisoned 
with  a  slender  crimson  bridle,  and  a 
saddle  smaller  than  the  Arab  saddles 
and  furnished  with  lighter  stirrups.     The 


Christian  guests  are  furnished  with  ver- 
itable arquebuses  of  the  Middle  Ages; 
that  is  to  say,  with  Kabyle  guns,  the 
stock  of  which,  flattened  and  surmount- 
ed with  a  hammer  of  flints,  is  ignited  by 
a  wheel-shaped  lock,  easier  to  be  man- 
aged by  a  Burgundian  under  Charles 
the  Bold  than  by  an  unpretending  mod- 
ern Roumi. 

The  usual  features  of  an  Algerian  hunt 
succeed.  A  phantom-like  silence  per- 
vades the  column  of  galloping  horsemen 
up  to  the  moment  when  the  boar  is  beat- 
en up.  Then,  with  a  formidable  clamor 
oi  "  Haoii  !  haoic  f  from  his  pursuers, 
the  tusked  monster  bursts  through  the 
tamarinds  and  dwarf  palms  :  after  a  long 
chase  he  suddenly  stops,  and  then  his 
form  instantly  disappears  under  the  gi- 
gantic African  hounds  who  leap  upon 
him  and  hang  at  his  ears.  A  huntsman 
dismounts  and  stabs  his  shoulder  with 
the  yataghan.  After  a  rest  the  chase  is 
resumed,  but  this  time  under  the  form 
of  a  hawking-party. 

Only  the  djouads  and  marabouts — that 
is  to  say,  the  religious  or  secular  nobles 
— have  the  privilege  of  hunting  with  the 
falcon.  The  patrician  bird,  taken  by 
the  agha  from  the  shoulder  of  his  hawk- 
bearer,  is  about  as  large  as  a  pigeon,  the 
head  small,  beak  short  and  strong,  the 
claws  yellow  and  armed  with  sharp  tal- 
ons. The  bird  rides  upon  his  master's 
leather  glove  until  a  hare  is  started : 
then,  unhooded  and  released,  his  first 
proceeding  is  to  dart  into  the  zenith  as 
if  commissioi^ed  to  make  a  hole  in  the 
sky.  No  fear,  however,  that  the  poor 
panting  quarry  is  lost  for  an  instant  from 
the  vision  of  that  infallible  eye,  which 
follows  far  aloft  in  the  blue,  invisible  and 
fatal.  Soon  the  cruel  bird  drops  hke  an 
aerolite,  and,  as  the  deed  is  explained  to 
us,  doubles  up  his  yellow  hand  into  a 
fist,  and  deals  the  animal  a  sharp  blow 
on  the  skull.  Directly,  as  the  horsemen 
approach,  he  is  found  with  his  obtuse 
head  bent  over  his  prey,  digging  out  its 
eyes  by  the  spoonful. 

By  noontide  the  troop  is  naturally 
famished.  A  luncheon,  has,  however, 
been  prepared  by  the  thoughtfulness  of 
the  agha.     Riding  up  to  a  tent  which  ap- 


r  12 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


pears  as  by  magic  in  tlie  wilderness,  the   |  discovered.     Two  fires  are  burning  in 
provisions  for  a  sumptuous  repast  are      the  open  air,  and  are  suirounded  by  a 


host  of  servants  or  followers.     The  Rou- 
mi  and  their  host  adjourn  from  the  neigh- 


borhood of  the   preparations,  and   are 
served  under  a  plane  tree  beautiful  as 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


"3 


that  whose  hmbs  were  hung  by  Xerxes 
with  bracelets.  A  soup,  absolutely  set 
on  fire  with  red  pepper,  introduces  the 
repast :  pancakes  follow,  and  various 
meats  smothered  with  eggs  or  onions. 
Then  two  half-naked  cooks  stagger  up 
bearing  on  a  wooden  dish,  under  a  gold- 
bordered  napkin,  a  sheep  roasted  entire 
and  still  impaled  with  the  spit.  The 
chief  cook  takes  hold  of  the  skewer  and 
draws  it  violently  toward  himself,  apply- 
ing a  smart  stroke  with  his  naked  heel 
to  the  tail  of  the  creature — a  contact 
which  would  seem  almost  as  trying  as 
the  ancient  ordeal  of  the  ploughshares, 
or  as  the  red-hot  horseshoes  which  the 
fire-eating  marabouts  are  accustomed  to 
dance  upon.  The  Roumi  travelers  taste 
the  succulent  viand,  taste  again,  eat  till 
ashamed,  and  are  ready  to  declare  that 
never  was  mutton  properly  dressed  be- 
fore. If  possible,  they  vow  to  introduce 
the  undissected  roast,  the  bonfire,  the 
spit  and  the  cook  with  imperturbable 
heel  into  the  cuisine  of  less-favored  lands 
more  distant  from  the  sun. 

Champagne,  which  the  cunning  Mus- 
sulmans do  not  consider  as  wine,  washes 
the  meal,  and  coffee  and  pale  perfumed 
tobacco  supplement  it.  But  when  the 
appetite  has  retired  and  permitted  some 
sharpness  to  the  ordinary  senses,  the 
travelers  are  amazed  at  the  gradual  and 
silent  increase  which  has  taken  place  in 
their  numbers.  Every  group  of  guests 
is  augmented  by  a  circle  of  prone  and 
creeping  forms  that,  springing  apparent- 
ly from  the  earth,  are  busily  breaking 
the  fragments  of  the  feast  under  the  care 
of  the  servitors,  who  appear  rather  to 
encourage  than  repel  them.  Ben-Ali- 
Cherif,  being  interrogated,  replies  calm- 
ly, "They  are  Tofailians." 

The  Tofailian  is  a  parasite  on  system, 
an  idler  who  elevates  his  belly  into  a 
divinity,  or  at  least  a  principle.  His 
prophet  or  exemplar  is  a  certain  Tofail, 
whose  doctrine  is  expressed  in  a  {^\v 
practical  rules,  respectfully  observed  and 
numerously  followed.  "  Let  him  who  at- 
tends a  wedding-feast,"  says  one  of  his 
apophthegms,  "having  no  invitation, 
avoid  glancing  here  and  there  dubious- 
ly. Choose  the  best  place.  If  the  guests 
8 


of  marked  genius  once 
festival  was  going  on  at 
grand  mansion.     He  ran  thither,  but 


are  numerous,  pass  through  boldly  with- 
out saluting  any  one,  to  make  the  guests 
of  the  bride  think  you  a  friend  of  the 
bridegroom,  and  those  of  the  groom  a 
friend  of  the  bride." 

An  Arab  poet  said  of  Tofail:  "If  he 
saw  two  buttered  pancakes  in  a  cloud, 
he  would  take  his  flight  without  hesita- 
tion." 

A  Tofailian 
learned  that  a 
a 

the  door  was  closed  and  entrance  im- 
possible.    Inquiring  here  and  there,  he 
learned   that  a  son  of  the   house  was 
absent  on  the  Mecca  pilgrimage.     In- 
stantly he  procured  a  sheet  of  parch- 
ment, folded  it,  and  sealed  it  as  usual 
with  clay :  he  rolled  his  garments  in  the 
dust  and  bent  his  spine  painfully  over  a 
long  staff.     Thus   perfect   in   what  an 
actor  would  call   his   reading,  he  sent 
word  to  the  host  that  a  messenger  had 
arrived  from  his  son.     "You  have  seen 
him?"  said  the  delighted  Amphitryon, 
"and  how  did  he  bear  his  fatigues?" 
"He  was  in  excellent  health,"  answer- 
ed the  Tofailian  very  feebly.     "Speak, 
speak!"    cried   the  eager  father,  "and 
tell  me  every  detail :    how  far  had  he 
got?"     "I  cannot,  I  am  faint  with  hun- 
ger," said  the  simple  fellow.     Directly 
he  was  seated  at  the  highest  place  of 
the  feast,  and  every  guest  admired  that 
splendid  appetite — an  appetite  quite  pro- 
fessional, and  cultivated   as   poulterers 
cultivate  the  assimilative  powers  of  livers. 
"  Did  my  son  send  no  letter  ?"  asked  the 
poor  father  in  a  favorable  interval  caused 
by  strangulation.     "Surely,"  replied  the 
good  friend,  and,  comprehending  that 
the   critical    moment    had    arrived,   he 
drew  to  himself  a  chine  of  kid  with  one 
hand  while  he  unwound  the  letter  from 
his  turban  with  the  other.     The  seal  was 
still  moist,  and  the  pilgrim  had  not  found 
time  to  write  anything  on  the  parchment. 
"Are  you  a  Tofailian  ?"  asked  the  host 
with  the  illumination  of  a  sudden  idea. 
"Yea,  in  truth,  verily,"  said  the  stranger, 
struggling  with  his  last  mouthful.     "  Eat, 
then,  and  may  Sheytan  trouble  thy  di- 
gestion !"     The  parasite  was  shown  the 
door,  but  he  had  dined. 


114 


THE   ROUMl  IN  KABYLIA. 


Men  of  rank  and  wealth,  like  Ben- 
Ali-Cherif,  turn  the  Tofailian  into  a  pro- 
verb, and  thus  laugh  at  a  plague  they 
cannot  cure. 

The  Algerine  coast  has  enriched  our 
language  with  at  least  two  words,  re- 
spectively warlike  and  peaceful — razzia 
zxid  fantasia.     The  latter  is  applied  to  a 


game  of  horsemanship,  used  to  express 
joy  or  to  honor  a  distinguished  friend. 
A  spirited  fantasia  is  organized  by  the 
guests  of  the  agha  on  returning  to  Ak- 
bou.  Twenty  of  the  best-mounted  horse- 
men having  gone  on  before,  and  being 
completely  lost  to  sight  in  the  whirlwind 
of  dust  created  by  their  departure,  all 


^.-.xv^ --"'=' ^• 


POVERTY  AND  JEWELS. 


of  a  sudden  reappear.  Menacing  their 
host  and  his  companions  like  an  army, 
they  gallop  up,  their  bornouses  flying 
and  their  weapons  flashing,  until  at  a 
few  paces  they  discharge  their  long  guns 
under  the  bodies  of  the  horses  opposite, 
and  take  flight  like  a  covey  of  birds. 
Loading  as  they  retire  and  quickly  form- 
ing, again  they  dash  to  the  charge,  shout- 


ing, galloping,  and  shooting  among  the 
legs  of  their  host's  fine  horses  :  this  sham 
attack  is  repeated  a  score  or  two  of  times, 
up  to  the  door  of  the  agha's  house.  The 
Bedouins,  in  their  picturesque  expression, 
are  making  the  powder  talk.  Finer  horse- 
manship can  nowhere  be  seen.  Their 
horses,  accustomed  to  the  exercise,  enter 
into  the  game  with  spirit,  and  the  riders, 


THE   ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


115 


secure  in  their  castellated  saddles,  sit  with 
ease  as  they  turn,  leap  or  dance  on  two 
feet.  Used,  too,  from  infancy  to  the 
society  of  their  mares,  they  move  with 
them  in  a  degree  of  unity,  vigor  and 
boldness  which  the  English  horseman 
never  attains.  The  Arab's  love  for  his 
horse  is  not  only  the  pride  of  the  cava- 


lier: it  is  an  article  of  faith,  and  the 
Prophet  comprehended  the  close  unity 
between  his  nation  and  their  beasts  when 
he  said,  "The  blessings  of  this  world, 
up  to  the  day  of  judgment,  shall  be  sus- 
pended to  the  locks  which  our  horses 
wear  between  their  eyes." 

Truly  the  Oriental  idea  of  hospitality 


GEORGE   CHRISTY    IN    AFRICA. 


has  its  advantages — on  the  side  of  the 
obliged  party.  This  haughty  ruler,  on 
the  simple  stress  of  a  letter  from  a  French 
commandant,  has  made  himself  our  serv- 
ant and  teased  his  brain  for  devices  to 
amuse  us.  His  chief  cook  precedes  us 
to  his  birthplace  at  Chellata,  to  arrange 
a  sumptuous  Arab  supper.  After  a  ride 
made  enervating  by  the  simoom,  we  de- 
scend at  the  arcaded  and  galleried  Moor- 
ish house  where  Ben-Ali-Cherif  was  born, 
and  are  visited  by  the  sheikh  of  the  col- 
lege which  the  agha  maintains.     It  is  a 


strange,  peaceful,  cloistered  scene,  con- 
secrated to  study  and  hospitality.  Chel- 
lata, white  and  silent,  sleeps  in  the  gi- 
gantic shadow  of  the  rock  Tisibert,  and 
in  its  graveyard,  among  the  tombs  of 
sacred  marabouts,  walk  the  small  bald- 
headed  students  reciting  passages  of  law 
or  of  the  Koran.  Algeria  is  dotted  over 
with  institutions  [zaouias]  similar  to  this, 
which,  like  monasteries  of  old,  combine 
the  functions  of  seminaries  and  gratuitous 
inns.  That  of  Ben-Ali-Cherif,  to  which 
he  contributes  from  his  own  purse  a  sum 


ii6 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


equal  to  sixteen  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
is  enshrined  in  buildings  strewn  around 
the  resting-place  of  his  holy  ancestors. 
The  sacred  koubba  (or  dome)  marking 
the  bones  of  the  marabout  is  swept  by 
shadows  of  oak  and  tamarind  trees : 
professors  stray  in  the  shadow,  and  the 
pupils  con  their  tasks  on  the  adjoining 
tombstones. 

Every  impression  of  Chellata  is  silver- 
ed over,  as  with  a  moonlight  of  benef- 
icence, by  the  attentions  of  Ben-Ali's 
house-steward,  who  rains  upon  our  ap- 
petites a  shower  of  most  delicious  kous- 
koussu,  soothes  us  with  Moorish  coftee, 
and  finishes  by  the  politeness  of  lighting 
and  taking  the  first  whiff  of  our  cigarette 
— a  bit  of  courtesy  that  might  be  spared, 
but  common  here  as  in  parts  of  Spain. 

With  daybreak  we  find  the  town  of 
Chellata  preparing  to  play  its  role  as  a 
mart  or  place  of  industry.  The  labor 
seems  at  first  sight,  however,  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  children  and  the  women : 
the  former  lead  the  flocks  out  at  sunrise 
to  pasture  in  the  mountain,  the  women 
make  the  town  ring  with  their  busy  work, 
whether  of  grinding  at  the  mill,  weaving 
stuff  or  making  graceful  vases  in  pottery. 
The  men  are  at  work  in  the  fields,  from 
which  they  return  at  nightfall,  sullen, 
hardy  and  silent,  in  their  tattered  haiks. 
These  are  never  changed  among  the 
poor  working-people,  for  the  scars  of  a 
bornouse  are  as  dignified  as  those  of  the 
body,  and  are  confided  with  the  garment 
"by  a  father  to  his  son.  The  women,  as 
we  have  remarked  before,  are  in  a  state 
■of  far  greater  liberty  than  are  the  female 
Arabs,  but  it  is  more  than  anything  else 
the  liberty  to  toil.  Among  these  moun- 
taineers the  wife  is  a  chattel  from  whom 
it  is  permissible  to  extract  all  the  useful- 
ness possible,  and  whom  it  is  allowable 
to  sell  when  a  bargain  can  be  struck. 
The  Kabyle  woman's  sole  recreation  is 
her  errand  to  the  fountain.  This  is 
sometimes  situated  in  the  valley,  far 
from  the  nodding  pillar  or  precipice  on 
which  the  town  is  built.  There  the  trav- 
eler finds  the  good  wives  talking  and 
laughing  together,  bending  their  lively 
■ — sometimes  blonde  and  blue -eyed — 
faces  together  over  their  jars,  and  gos- 


.siping  as  in  Naples  or  as  in  the  streets 
around  Notre  Dame  in  Paris.  The  Ka- 
byles — differing  therein  from  the  Arab? 
— provide  a  fountain  for  either  sex ;  and 
a  visit  by  a  man  to  the  women's  foun- 
tain is  charged,  in  their  singular  code  of 
penal  fines,  "inspired  by  Allah,"  a  sum 
equal  to  five  dollars,  or  half  as  much  as 
the  theft  of  an  ox. 

By  the  white  light  of  day -dawn  we 
quit  Chellata,  with  the  naked  crests  of 
the  Djurjura  printing  themselves  on  the 
starry  vault  behind  us  and  the  valley 
below  bathed  in  clouds.  As  we  descend 
we  seem  to  waken  the  white,  red-roofed 
villages  with  our  steps.  The  plateaus 
are  gradually  enlivened  with  spreading 
herds  and  men  going  forth  to  labor. 
We  skirt  the  precipice  of  Azrou-n'hour, 
crowned  with  its  marabout's  tomb.  The 
plains  at  our  feet  are  green  and  glorious, 
pearled  with  white,  distant  villages. 
Opposite  the  precipice  the  granite  rocks 
open  to  let  us  pass  by  a  narrow  portal 
where  formerly  the  Kabyles  used  to 
stand  and  levy  a  toll  on  all  travelers. 
This  straitened  gorge,  where  snow 
abounds  in  winter,  and  which  has  vari- 
ous narrow  fissures,  is  named  the  Defile 
of  Thifilkoult :  it  connects  the  highways 
of  several  tribes,  but  is  impassable  from 
December  to  April  from  the  snow  and 
the  storms  which  rage  among  the  cliffs. 
We  are  still  four  thousand  feet  above 
the  plain,  whose  depth  the  swimming 
eye  tries  in  vain  to  fathom,  yet  the  snowy 
peaks  above  us  are  inaccessible.  De- 
scending chains  of  rocks  mingled  with 
flint  and  lime,  we  attain  a  more  clement 
landscape.  Kabyle  girls  crowd  around 
a  well  called  the  Mosquitoes'  Fountain, 
a  naked  boy  plays  melancholy  tunes  on 
a  reed,  and  the  signs  of  a  lower  level 
are  abundant  in  the  fields  of  corn  and 
orchards  of  olive.  But  the  rugged  moun- 
tains, in  whose  grasp  we  have  found  so 
many  wonders,  are  not  left  without  re- 
gret. The  most  picturesque  part  of  our 
course  is  now  behind  us,  and  as  day 
dies  upon  our  crossing  through  Iferaou- 
enen,  we  turn  back  to  behold  the  fine 
line  of  the  mountains,  half  sad  and  re- 
gretful, 

While  Jove's  planet  rises  yonder,  silent  over  Africa. 


THE  ROUMI  IN  KABYLIA. 


117 


Fourteen  expeditions  were  found  neces-  ] 
sary  by  the  French  between  1838  and  ! 
1857  to  subdue  the  Kabyles,  who  under 
leaders  such  as  Ben-Salem,  Ben-Kassim, 
the  Man-with-the-Mule,  the  Man-with- 
the-She-Ass,  and  other  chiefs  less  cele- 
brated, defended  their  territory  step  by 
step.  In  the  great  chastisement  of  1857, 
Marshal  Randon,  after  subduing  this  part 
of  the  Djurjura  ridge  in  detail,  deter- 
mined to  preserve  the  fruits  of  victory 
by  two  new  constructions  —  a  fort  and 
a  military  road.  France  was  to  reside 
among  her  unwilling  colonists,  and  she 
was  to  possess  an  avenue  of  escape. 
The  building  of  these  two  conveniences, 
as  we  may  call  them,  over  the  smoking 
ruins  of  victory,  was  a  conspicuous  ex- 
ample of  the  excellent  engineering  genius 
of  the  nation.  An  English  officer,  Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Walmsley,  witnessed,  and 
has  left  a  spirited  account  of,  the  great 
conquest,  and  the  immediate  improve- 
ment of  it.  The  strongholds  of  the 
Djurjura  (it  being  May,  1857)  were 
taken  :  the  most  difficult,  Icheriden,  was 
soon  to  fall,  yielding  only  to  the  assault 
of  the  Foreign  Legion — that  troop  of 
Arabs  and  of  Kabyles  from  the  Zouaoua 
plain  wherefrom  we  derive  the  word  zoti- 
ave.  Marshal  Randon  selected  for  his 
fort  the  key  of  the  whole  district :  it  was 
a  place  known  as  the  Souk-el-Arba 
("Market  of  Wednesday").  It  was  in 
the  heart  of  the  Beni  Raten  land,  and 
in  a  spot  where  three  great  mountain- 
ridges  ran  down  into  the  plain  of  the 
Sebaou.  These  ridges,  subdued  and 
friendly,  would  be  held  in  respect  by 
the  garrison  of  the  fort,  and  the  other 
ridge  of  Agacha,  still  rebellious,  would 
likewise  terminate  at  the  fort.  The 
works  were  immediately  laid  out  and 
quickly  built.  As  the  road  sprang  into 
its  level  flight  like  magic,  the  peeping 
Kabyles,  perfectly  unaware  that  they 
were  conquered,  laughed  in  derision. 
"  It  is  to  help  the  cowards  to  run  away," 
they  said.  In  due  time  rose  the  pale 
walls  of  the  citadel,  with  mountains 
above  and  hills  below.  The  Kabyles 
call  it  the  White  Phantom.  Their  songs, 
the  "  traditions  "  of  illiterate  tribes,  recite 


the  building  of  the  terrible  stronghold : 
"The  Roumi  has  arrived  at  the  Market: 
he  is  building  there.  Weep,  O  my  eyes  ! 
tears  of  blood.  The  children  of  Raten 
are  valiant  men :  they  are  known  as 
masters  of  the  warlike  art.  They  fell 
upon  the  enemy  at  Icheriden.  The 
Franks  fell  like  lopped  branches.  Glory 
to  those  brave  men !  But  the  Roumi 
has  peeled  us  like  seeds.  The  powder 
talks  no  more.  The  warlike  men  are 
fainting.  Cover  thyself  with  mourning, 
O  my  head  !" 

As  the  tourist  turns  the  summit  of 
Aboudid  suddenly  appears,  like  an  or- 
namental detail  in  a  panorama,  this 
vast  fortress,  originally  named  Fort  Na- 
poleon, and  since  the  collapse  of  the 
empire  called  Fort  National.  During 
the  French  troubles  of  1871,  in  the 
month  of  August,  General  Ceres  was 
obliged  to  inspire  terror  by  burning  the 
village  of  Thizzi-Ouzzou  beneath,  and 
then  went  on  to  relieve  the  fort.  When 
the  next  opportunity  will  occur  for  the 
Beni  Raten  to  assert  their  rights  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell.  We  descend  from  the 
fort,  and  all  becomes  commonplace. 
The  charred  ruins  of  Thizzi-Ouzzou  in 
its  valley-bed  are  being  replaced  by 
new  buildings.  All  wears  a  look  of 
every-day  thrift.  The  Arab,  moving  his 
household  goods,  drives  before  him  his 
poor  dingy  wife,  loaded  down  with  worth- 
less valuables  and  also  with  copper  jew- 
els, in  which  she  clanks  like  a  fettered 
slave.  A  negro  musician  from  the  Des- 
ert, a  true  African  minstrel,  capers  be- 
fore us  and  beats  the  tom-tom,  until, 
distracted  with  his  noise,  we  pay  him 
and  bombard  him  off  the  face  of  the 
road  with  projectiles. 

From  Thizzi-Ouzzou  to  Algiers  it  is 
but  four  hours'  journey,  and  the  four 
hours  are  passed  in  a  diligence.  Yes, 
our  circumstances  are  subdued  to  the 
conditions  of  the  diligence  !  Adieu,  our 
spahi  guides,  like  figures  from  Lalla 
Rookh  !  Adieu,  our  dream  of  an  Afri- 
can Switzerland  !  The  Roumi,  outside 
of  Kabylia,  quickly  fades  into  the  light 
of  common  day,  and  becomes  plain 
Tom  or  Harry. 


ii8 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


SKETCHES    OF    EASTERN   TRAVEL. 

I.— THE   COUNT   DE   BEAUVOIR    IN   CHINA. 


WITHIN  the  last  twenty  years  the 
East  has  opened  wide  its  gates, 
and  China,  Japan  and  India  are  as  anx- 


ious to  become  acquainted  with  the  later 
but  more  fully  developed  civilizations  of 
Europe   and   this   country  as  we  are  to 


examine  their  social,  political  and  indus-  I  from  English,  American,  German  and 
trial  systems.     We  have  had  accounts  '   French  travelers  in  the  East,  each  tinged. 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


119 


in  a  measure,  with  the  national  spirit  of 
their  respective  countries.  In  the  case 
of  the  traveler,  as  of  the  astronomer,  a 
certain  allowance,  known  as  the  per- 
sonal equation,  has  to  be  made  in  re- 
ceiving the  accounts  of  his  observations. 

The  journey  round  the  world  made 
by  the  count  de  Beauvoir  in  company 
with  the  duke  de  Penthievre,  son  of  the 
prince  de  Joinville,  is  entitled  to  especial 
notice,  as  the  attentions  shown  to  the 
travelers  by  the  Chinese  and  Japanese 
authorities  enabled  them  to  obtain  the 
best  conditions  for  investigating  various 
matters  of  interest. 

On  landing  at  Shanghai  their  hearts 
were  gladdened  by  seeing  "on  the  quay 
a  French  custom-house  official,  with  his 
kepi  over  his  ear,  his  rattan  in  his  hand, 
dressed  in  a  dark-green  tunic,  and  full 
of  the  inquisitiveness  of  the  customs  in- 
spector— as  martial  and  as  authoritative 
as  in  his  native  land."  The  appearance 
of  the  population  here  struck  our  trav- 
elers as  different  from  that  of  the  native 
Chinese  farther  south.  Those  were  yel- 
low, copper-colored,  lean,  and  slightly 
clad  in  garments  of  cotton  cloth  ;  these 
were  rosy  as  children  and  fat  as  pigs : 
they  were  besides  wrapped  up  in  four 
or  five  pelisses,  worn  one  over  the  other, 
lined  with  sheepskins,  so  that  a  single 
man  smelt  like  a  whole  flock  of  sheep. 
Their  style  of  dress  was  this  :  half  a  doz- 
en waistcoats  without  sleeves,  covered 
with  a  single  overcoat  with  extremely 
long  sleeves,  falling  down  to  their  knees. 
These  garments  made  them  resemble 
balls  of  wool  rather  than  men. 

By  accident,  the  party  passed  first 
through  the  quarter  of  the  town  devoted 
to  the  restaurants.  Here  they  were  for 
every  grade  of  fortune,  from  the  mil- 
lionaire to  the  ragged  poor.  The  street 
filled  with  these  latter  was  terrible  :  it 
swarmed  with  thousands  of  beggars, 
hardly  human  in  form  and  almost  naked, 
though  there  was  frozen  snow  upon  the 
ground.  A  group,  seeming  even  joyous, 
attracted  attention.  The  cause  of  their 
happiness  was  a  dead  dog  which  they 
had  found  in  one  of  the  gutters.  Even, 
however,  in  this  degradation  the  polite- 
ness of  these  people  struck  our  French- 


men forcibly.  The  guests  gathered  about 
this  fortuitous  repast  treated  each  other 
with  a  ceremonious  deference  strange 
enough  in  such  surroundings.  In  a  still 
lower  stratum,  however,  among  even  a 
more  degraded  class,  whose  feasts  were 
obtained  from  the  live  preserves  carried 
upon  their  own  persons,  this  politeness, 
the  last  quality  a  Chinaman  loses  from 
the  degradation  of  poverty,  was  wanting. 

A  few  miles  from  Shanghai  lies  Zi-Ka- 
Wai,  a  colony  founded  by  the  Jesuits, 
of  which  our  traveler  gives  a  most  in- 
teresting account.  The  road  to  Zi-Ka- 
Wai  lay  over  a  sandy  plain  intersected 
with  canals.  On  both  sides  of  the  road 
were  hundreds  of  coffins  resting  upon 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  the  north- 
ern part  of  China  there  are  no  grave- 
yards, and  the  coffins  were  arranged 
sometimes  in  piles  in  the  fields.  It  is 
said  that  they  thus  remain  until  a  change 
takes  place  in  the  reigning  dynasty, 
when  they  are  all  destroyed.  As  the 
present  dynasty  has  reigned  about  three 
hundred  years,  the  accumulation  may 
be  imagined.  This  traditional  respect 
for  the  inviolability  of  the  dead  is  one 
of  the  chief  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
introduction  of  the  telegraph  and  rail- 
road in  China.  A  commercial  house  in 
Shanghai  had  built  a  telegraph  to  Wo- 
Soung  to  announce  the  arrival  of  the 
mail,  but  in  a  few  days  the  wire  was  cut 
in  more  than  five  hundred  places — at  all 
the  points  where  its  shadow  from  the 
rising  sun  fell  upon  the  coffins  lying  on 
the  ground. 

At  Zi-Ka-Wai  the  Jesuits  have  an 
educational  institution,  and,  dressed  in 
the  Chinese  costume,  smoking  the  long 
native  pipes,  received  their  visitors  with 
great  cordiality.  Their  pupils  are  divided 
into  three  classes.  The  first  consists  of 
the  children  of  the  neighboring  towns 
who  have  been  deserted  by  their  parents 
and  left  to  die  of  hunger.  The  majority 
of  them  are  lepers,  and  have  been  more 
or  less  perfectly  cured  by  the  Fathers. 
When  brought  to  the  institution  they  are 
thoroughly  cleaned,  being  rubbed  with 
pumice  stone.  They  receive  an  indus- 
trial as  well  as  a  literary  education.  In 
one  building  they  are  taught  to  read  and 


I20 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


write,  and  in  another  are  the  schools  for 
shoemaking,  carpentering,  printing  and 
other  manual  arts ;  so  that,  being  re- 
ceived at  the  age  of  five  or  six,  at  twenty 
to  twenty-one  they  are  launched  upon 
the  world  with  an  education  and  a  trade. 


There  are  about  four  hundred  children 
in  this  class,  and  the  activity,  the  order 
and  organization  of  the  workshops,  and 
the  exquisite  cleanliness  of  the  surround- 
ings, are  delightful  to  see.  Near  at  hand 
is  a  school  of  a  higher  grade,  to  which 


the  most  promising  pupils  are  transfer- 
red for  the  study  of  Chinese  literature. 
The  system  of  teaching  here  is  peculiar : 
all  the  pupils  are  required  to  study  aloud, 
and  the  din  is  in  consequence  deafening 
and  incessant.     Then  there  is  the  high- 


est class,  consisting  of  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  youths,  the  sons  of  rich 
mandarins,  who  pay  heavily  for  their 
instruction.  These  are  destined  to  be- 
come rhetoricians,  and,  step  by  step, 
bachelors,  licentiates,  doctors,  then  man- 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


121 


darins  and  members  of  the  governing 
class  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  The 
studies  are  Chinese,  and  the  Fathers 
have  with  wonderful  patience  learned 
not  only  the  Chinese  language,  as  well 
as  its  written  characters,  but  also  the 
nice  critical  points  of  its  idioms,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  teach  with  authority  the 
poetry  and  legends  and  the  commen- 
taries upon  the  writings  of  Confucius. 
This  they  have  done  for  the  purpose  of 
having  an  opportunity  to  convert  the  or- 
phans they  have  adopted,  and  thus  by  de- 
grees introduce  into  the  government  an 
element  which  will  be  essentially  Chris- 
tian. Thus  far,  the  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity is  not  essentially  incompatible 
with  the  office  of  mandarin,  though  it  is 
impossible  to  hold  this  position  without 
performing  some  idolatrous  rites. 

On  the  13th  of  March  the  ice  was 
sufficiently  broken  to  open  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Pei-Ho,  and  the  party  started 
upon  the  steamer  Sze-Chuen  for  Tien- 
Tsin  and  Pekin.  They  were  joined  by 
an  English  commissioner  of  the  Chinese 
custom-house,  whose  position  as  a  high 
functionary  of  the  Celestial  government, 
together  with  his  knowledge  of  Chinese, 
proved  of  great  service.  The  trip  to 
Pekin  was  brought  to  a  sudden  tempo- 
rary close  by  the  Sze-Chuen  running 
aground  on  the  bar  of  the  Pei-Ho,  where 
she  remained  nearly  two  days,  but  was 
finally  got  off  after  the  removal  of  a 
part  of  her  cargo. 

The  navigation  of  the  Pei-Ho  is  dif- 
ficult on  account  of  the  narrowness  of 
the  stream  and  its  exceedingly  sinuous 
course.  Frequently  the  steamer  had  to 
be  towed  by  a  line  passed  on  shore  and 
fastened  round  a  tree.  At  Tien-Tsin  the 
travelers  landed,  and  witnessed  a  review 
of  some  imperial  cavalry  regiments 
mounted  upon  Tartar  ponies,  with  high 
saddles  and  short  stirrups.  The  war- 
riors wore  queues  and  were  dressed  in 
long  robes.  Their  moustaches  gave 
them,  however,  a  fierce  martial  air,  and 
they  were  armed  with  English  sabres 
and  American  revolvers. 

Tien-Tsin  ("Heaven's  Ford")  is  a 
city  of  about  four  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants, and  lies  at  the  junction  of  the 


Imperial  Canal  with  the  Pei-Ho.  The 
country  from  here  to  Pekin,  about  three 
days'  journey  by  land,  is  sandy,  and 
the  trip  is  made  a  very  disagreeable  one 
by  the  clouds  of  dust,  which  blind  the 
traveler  and  effectually  prevent  any  ex- 
amination of  the  country  passed  through 

The  cavalcade  comprised  seven  of  the 
native  carts,  each  drawn  by  two  mules. 
Their  construction  may  be  thus  de- 
scribed :  A  sort  of  barrow  made  of  blue 
cloth  hangs  like  a  box  upon  an  axletree 
about  a  yard  long,  furnished  with  two 
clumsy  wheels.  It  is  impossible  to  lie 
down  in  them,  because  they  are  too 
short,  nor  can  a  bench  to  sit  on  be  placed 
in  them,  because  they  are  too  low.  As 
a  compensation,  however,  they  are  so 
light  that  they  can  go  anywhere.  The 
driver  sits  on  the  left  shaft,  where  he  is 
conveniently  placed  for  leaping  down 
to  beat  the  mules.  These  are  harnessed, 
one  in  the  shafts  and  the  other  in  front, 
with  long  traces  tied  upon  the  axletree 
near  the  left  wheel.  As  they  are  guided 
only  by  the  voice,  the  course  of  the  cart 
depends  chiefly  upon  the  fancy  they 
may  take  for  following  or  neglecting  the 
road ;  while  from  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  harnessed  their  draught  is  al- 
ways sideways,  and  they  therefore  trot 
obhquely. 

At  Yang-Soun  the  party  was  joined 
by  a  mandarin  with  a  crystal  button, 
sent  by  the  governor  of  the  province  of 
Tien-Tsin,  Tchoung-Hao,  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  passports  and  safe-conducts. 
During  the  rest  of  the  journey  this  man- 
darin, Ching,  led  the  way  in  his  cart 
drawn  by  a  fine  black  mule,  and  on 
arriving  at  the  villages  on  the  route  dis- 
played his  function,  as  a  man  of  letters, 
by  putting  on  an  immense  pair  of  spec- 
tacles, the  glasses  of  which  were  about 
three  inches  in  diameter.  At  Ho-Chi- 
Wou  the  procession  halted  during  the 
middle  of  the  day,  and  was  photograph- 
ed by  one  of  its  members.  The  curious 
crowd  of  spectators  which  gathered  in 
every  village  to  inspect  the  "foreign 
devils"  scattered  when  the  camera  was 
posed,  and  for  a  few  moments  our  trav- 
elers were  freed  from  their  intrusiveness. 

Starting  next  morning  at  daylight,  at 


I  22 


SKETCHES    OE  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 

illKIIIIIIIII 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


123 


ihree  in  the  afternoon  the  party  entered 
Pekin.  The  relief  was  great  to  leave 
the  sandy,  dusty  road  for  one  of  the 
paved  ways  which  radiate  from  the  city. 
The  first  sight  of  the  city  struck  the 
travelers  as  the  most  grandiose  spectacle 
of  the  Celestial  Empire.  In  front  rose 
a  high  tower,  with  a  five-storied  roof  of 
green  tiles,  pierced  with  five  rows  of 
large  portholes,  from  which  grinned  the 
mouths  of  cannon  ;  while  to  the  right 
and  left,  as  far  as  could  be  seen,  stretch- 
ed the  gigantic  wall  surrounding  the  city, 
built  partly  of  granite  and  partly  of 
large  gray  bricks,  with  salients,  battle- 
ments and  loopholes,  wearing  a  decided- 
ly martial  air.  This  impression  was 
somewhat  modified,  however,  by  the 
discovery  that  the  grinning  cannons 
were  made  of  wood.  The  entrance 
was  under  a  vaulted  archway,  through 
which  streamed  a  converging  crowd  of 
Chinese,  Mongols,  Tartars,  with  their 
various  costumes,  together  with  blue 
carts,  files  of  mules  and  caravans  of 
heavily-loaded  camels. 

Pekin  was  built  by  Kublai-Khan  about 
1282,  near  the  site  of  an  important  city 
which  dated  from  the  Chow  dynasty,  or 
some  centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  city  covers  an  enclosed  space  about 
twenty  miles  in  circumference.  It  is 
rectangular  in  form,  and  divided  into 
two  parts,  the  Chinese  and  the  Tartar 
cities.  The  walls  of  the  Tartar  city  are 
the  largest  and  widest,  being  forty  to 
fifty  feet  high,  and,  tapering  slightly 
from  the  base,  about  forty  feet  wide  at 
the  top.  They  are  constructed  upon  a 
solid  foundation  of  stone  masonry  rest- 
ing upon  concrete,  while  the  walls  them- 
selves arev  built  of  a  solid  core  of  earth, 
faced  with  massive  brick :  the  top  is 
paved  with  tiles,  and  defended  by  a 
crenelated  parapet.  Bastions,  some  of 
which  are  fifty  feet  square,  are  built 
upon  the  outside  at  distances  of  about 
one  hundred  feet.  There  are  sixteen 
gates,  seven  of  which  are  in  the  Chinese 
town,  six  in  the  Tartar  town,  and  three 
in  the  partition  wall  between  these  two. 
In  the  centre  of  the  Tartar  city  is  an 
enclosure,  also  walled,  called  the  Impe- 
rial City,  and  within  this  another,  called 


the  Forbidden  City,  which  contains  the 
imperial  palaces  and  pleasure-grounds. 
Broad  straight  avenues,  crossing  each 
other  at  right  angles,  run  through  the 
whole  city,  which  in  this  respect  is  very 
unlike  other  Chinese  towns.  A  stream 
entering  the  Tartar  city  near  its  north- 
west corner  divides  into  two  branches, 
which  enter  the  Imperial  City  and  sur- 
round the  Forbidden  City,  and  then 
uniting  again  pass  through  the  Tartar 
and  Chinese  towns,  to  empty  in  the 
Tung-Chau  Canal. 

The  foreign  legations  are  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  Tartar  city,  on  the  banks 
of  this  stream.  The  top  of  the  walls 
forms  the  favorite  promenade  of  the  for- 
eign settlers,  and  from  here  a  fine  view 
of  the  whole  city  is  obtained.  M.  de 
Beauvoir,  however,  from  his  more  min- 
ute examination,  comes  to  the  followingr 
conclusions:  "This  immense  city,  in 
which  nothing  is  repaired,  and  in  which 
it  is  forbidden  under  the  severest  penal- 
ties to  demolish  anything,  is  slowly  dis- 
integrating, and  every  day  changing 
itself  into  dust.  The  sight  of  this  slow 
decomposition  is  sad,  since  it  promises 
death  more  certainly  than  the  most  vio- 
lent convulsions.  In  a  century  Pekin 
will  exist  no  longer;  it  must  then  be 
abandoned :  in  two  centuries  it  will  be 
discovered,  like  a  second  Pompeii,  bur- 
ied under  its  own  dust." 

The  gates  of  Virtuous  Victory  and  of 
Great  Purity,  the  temples  to  the  Heav- 
ens, to  Agriculture,  to  the  Spirit  of  the 
Winds  and  of  the  Thunder,  and  to  the 
Brilliant  Mirror  of  the  Mind,  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  party.  They  saw 
the  gilded  plough  and  the  sacred  har- 
row with  which  the  emperor  yearly  traces 
a  furrow  to  obtain  divine  favor  for  the 
crops,  as  well  as  the  yellow  straw  hat  he 
wears  during  this  ceremony  ;  and  also 
the  vases  made  of  iron  wire  in  which  he 
every  six  months  burns  the  sentences 
of  those  who  have  been  condemned  to 
death  in  the  empire.  They  visited  also 
the  magnificent  observatory  built  by 
Father  Verbiest,  a  Jesuit,  for  the  emperor 
You-Ching,  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  instruments  are  of  bronze,  and 
mounted  upon   fantastic   dragons,   and 


124 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


are  still  in  good  condition,  though  they 
have  been  exposed  to  the  open  air  all 
this  time.  One  of  them  was  a  celestial 
sphere  eight  feet  in  diameter,  containing 
all  the  stars  known  in  1650  and  visible 
in  Pekin, 


Visits  to  the  theatres,  to  the  temple  of 
the  Moon,  that  of  the  Lamas,  that  of 
Confucius,  and  to  others  made  the  days 
spent  in  Pekin  pass  quickly.  Among 
the  wonders  shown  was  the  largest  sus- 
pended bell  in  the  world — the  great  bell 


of  Moscow  has  never  been  hung — twen- 
ty-five feet  high,  weighing  ninety  thou- 
sand pounds,  and  richly  sculptured. 

The   private  life   of  the  Chinese  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  a  stranger  to  take 


part  in.  To  do  so  requires  a  knowledge 
of  Chinese,  which  can  be  gained  only 
by  years  of  assiduous  study,  and  that 
the  applicant  should,  as  far  as  possible 
in  dress  and  general  appearance,  make 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


125 


himself  a  Chinese.  Even  then,  com- 
plete success  is  gained  only  by  a  for- 
tunate combination  of  circumstances. 
The  streets  devoted  to  shops  of  all  kinds 
afford,  however,  to  the  traveler  a  never- 
ending  succession  of  changing  and  in- 
teresting pictures.  Yet  the  general  spirit 
of  the  Chinese  leads  them  also  to  be 
sparing  of  all  outward  decoration,  re- 
serving their  forces  for  interior  display. 
The  Forbidden  City  even,  though  mar- 
velous stories  are  told  of  its  interior 
splendors,  has  outside  a  mean  appear- 
ance. "A  pagoda  of  the  thirty-sixth 
rank  has  more  effect  than  the  sacred 
dwelling  of  the  Son  of  Heaven." 

In  the  military  quarters,  and  in  those 
inhabited  by  the  nobility,  the  party  in 
their  wanderings  were  struck  with  an 
expression  of  disdain  on  the  counte- 
nances of  those  natives  whom  they  met. 
Elsewhere  the  curiosity  to  see  the  for- 
eigners was  even  greater  than  the  Chi- 
nese themselves  ever  excited  in  the 
capitals  of  Europe ;  but  at  home  the 
higher  classes  passed  the  foreigners  with- 
out even  turning  to  look  at  them,  or  else 
glanced  at  them  indifferently  or  disdain- 
fully. Some  of  the  noble  class  walked, 
but  generally  they  rode  in  carts  similar 
to  that  of  the  mandarin  Ching.  The 
higher  the  rank  of  the  owner,  the  farther 
behind  are  the  wheels  placed.  With  a 
prince's  cart  they  are  so  far  behind  that 
the  rider  hangs  between  them  and  the 
mule.  Palanquins,  carried  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  porters,  offer  another 
and  the  most  convenient  means  of  loco- 
motion used  in  China :  this  method  is, 
however,  forbidden  except  for  princes 
and  ministers  of  state. 

In  the  busy  streets  of  trade  the  scene 
is  most  animated.  Thousands  of  scar- 
let signs  with  gilded  inscriptions  hang 
from  oblique  poles  raised  in  front  of  the 
shops.  Carts,  palanquins,  mules,  cam- 
els, coolies,  soldiers  and  merchants 
throng  the  streets,  while  to  add  to  the 
confusion  myriads  of  children  play  about 
your  legs,  and  the  old  men  carrying 
their  kites  toward  the  walls  add  to  the 
singularity  of  the  scene.  The  kites,  rep- 
resenting dragons,  eagles,  etc.,  are  man- 
aged with  a  dexterity  which  comes  only 


from  a  lifelong  practice.  They  are  some- 
times furnished  with  various  aeolian  at- 
tachments which  imitate  the  songs  of 
birds  or  the  voices  of  men.  The  pigeons 
also  in  Pekin  are  frequently  provided 
with  a  very  light  kind  of  aeolian  harp, 
which  is  secured  tightly  to  the  two  cen- 
tral feathers  of  their  tails,  so  that  in  fly- 
ing through  the  air  the  harps  sound 
harmoniously.  This  curious,  indistinct 
note  had  excited  the  count's  attention, 
and  he  learned  its  cause  from  a  pigeon 
which  fell  dead  at  his  feet,  having  in  its 
flight  struck  itself  against  the  cord  of 
one  of  the  kites.  Their  use  was  ex- 
plained by  the  natives  as  a  protection 
against  the  hawks  which  are  very  com- 
mon in  Pekin. 

Passing  one  day  the  place  of  execu- 
tion, the  travelers  were  shocked  to  see 
that  the  heads  of  the  executed  were  ex- 
posed to  the  public  gaze,  labeled  with 
the  crimes  for  which  they  had  suffered. 
Such  sights  as  this,  with  the  terrible  filth 
of  all  the  Chinese  cities,  the  squalid  suf- 
fering of  the  poor  and  the  want  of  sym- 
pathy with  indigence  and  disease,  sug- 
gested to  the  count,  as  they  too  frequent- 
ly suggest  to  European  visitors,  that  the 
degradation  of  the  Chinese  is  hopeless. 
Yet  such  sights  were  common  a  few 
generations  ago  in  every  European  cap- 
ital, and  the  same  causes  which  have 
led  to  their  cessation  there  are  at  work 
to-day  in  China,  and  bid  fair  to  produce 
the  same  results. 

The  service  of  the  custom-house,  which 
has  been  put  into  the  hands  of  Euro- 
peans, and  under  the  management  of 
Mr.  Robert  Hart  has  been  thoroughly 
organized,  is  having  a  great  influence  in 
civilizing  the  government,  as  well  as  in 
diffusing  European  ideas  and  methods 
among  the  people.  A  fixed  rate  of 
charges,  an  honesty  of  administration 
which  is  beyond  question,  prompt  activ- 
ity in  the  transaction  of  business,  have 
replaced  the  depredations  and  the  old 
methods  in  use  under  mandarin  rule. 
It  is  the  desire  of  the  manager  of  the 
custom-house  to  inaugurate  in  China  the 
establishment  of  a  system  of  lighthouses, 
to  organize  the  postal  system,  to  intro- 
duce railroads   and  telegraphs   and  to 


126 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


127 


open  the  coal  -  mines  of  the  empire. 
Success  in  these  reforms  means  bring- 
ing China  into  the  circle  of  inter- de- 
pendent civilized  nations;  and  so  far  all 
the  steps  in  this  direction  have  been  sure 
and  successful  ones. 

On  leaving  Pekin,  our  party  set  out  to 
visit  the  Great  Wall  of  China,  which 
lies  about  three  days'  journey  from  that 
capital,  on  the  route  to  Siberia.  Mon- 
golian ponies  served  for  the  means  of 
transportation  on  this  trip.  These  shag- 
gy little  animals  were  as  full  of  tricks  as 
they  were  ugly.  The  cavalcade  was  fol- 
lowed by  two  carts  for  carrying  the  money 
of  the  expedition.  The  whole  of  this 
capital  amounted  to  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  in  the  form  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  the  copper  coins  of  the 
country,  made  with  holes  in  their  centres 
and  strung  by  the  thousand  upon  osier 
twigs.  This  is  the  only  money  which 
circulates  in  the  agricultural  portions  of 
China,  and  a  "barbarian  "  has  to  give  a 
pound  weight  of  them  for  a  couple  of 
eggs.  The  country  soon  began  to  be- 
come hilly,  with  the  mountains  of  Mon- 
golia visible  in  the  distance.  Trains  of 
camels  were  passed,  or  could  be  seen 
winding  in  the  plain  below. 

The  next  day  the  party  arrived  at  the 
Tombs  of  the  Emperors.  These  are  the 
tombs  of  the  Ming  emperors,  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  dynasties  of  Chinese  his- 
tory. They  lie  in  a  circular  valley  which 
opens  out  from  a  great  plain,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  limestone  peaks  and  granite 
domes,  forming  a  barren  and  waste  am- 
phitheatre. The  grandeur  of  its  dimen- 
sions and  the  awful  barrenness  of  its 
desolation  make  it  a  fit  resting-place 
for  the  imperial  dead  of  the  last  native 
dynasty.  At  the  foot  of  the  surround- 
ing heights  thirteen  gigantic  tombs,  en- 
circled with  green  trees,  are  arranged  in 
a  semicircle.  Five  majestic  portals,  about 
eight  hundred  yards  apart,  form  the  en- 
trance to  the  tombs.  From  the  portico 
giving  entrance  to  the  valley  to  the 
tomb  of  the  first  emperor  is  more  than 
a  league,  and  the  long  avenue  is  mark- 
ed first  by  winged  columns  of  white 
marble,  and  next  by  two  rows  of  animals, 
carved  in  gigantic  proportions.     Of  these 


there  are,  on  either  side,  two  lions  stand- 
ing, two  lions  sitting  ;  one  camel  stand- 
ing, one  kneeling ;  one  elephant  stand- 
ing, one  kneeling  ;  one  dragon  stand- 
ing, one  sitting ;  two  horses  standing ; 
six  warriors,  courtiers,  etc.  The  lions 
are  fifteen  feet  high,  and  the  others  equal- 
ly colossal,  while  each  of  the  figures  is 
carved  from  a  single  block  of  granite. 

At  the  end  of  the  avenue  are  the  tombs, 
with  groups  of  trees  about  them.  Each 
tomb  is  really  a  temple  in  which  white 
and  pink  marble,  porphyry  and  carved 
teak -wood  are  combined,  not  indeed 
with  harmony  or  taste,  but,  what  is  rare 
in  China,  with  lines  of  great  purity  and 
severity.  One  of  the  halls  of  these 
tombs  is  about  a  hundred  feet  long  bv 
about  eighty  wide.  The  ceiling  is  from 
forty  to  sixty  feet  high,  and  is  supported 
by  rows  of  pillars,  each  formed  of  a  single 
stick  of  teak  timber  eleven  feet  in  cir- 
cumference. These  sticks  were  brought 
for  this  purpose  from  the  south  of  China. 
Though  they  have  been  in  position  over 
nine  hundred  years,  they  appear  as 
sound  as  when  first  posed,  nor  has  the 
austere  splendor  of  the  structure  suffered 
in  any  degree. 

The  sombre  obscurity  well  befits  these 
sepulchral  dwellings,  and  the  dull  sound 
of  the  deadened  gongs  struck  by  the 
guardians  makes  the  vaults  reverberate 
in  a  singular  and  impressive  way.  Be- 
hind the  memorial  temple  rises  an  arti- 
ficial mound  about  fifty  feet  high,  access 
to  the  top  of  which  is  given  by  a  rising 
arched  passage  built  of  white  marble. 
On  the  top  of  the  mound  is  an  imposing 
marble  structure  consisting  of  a  double 
arch,  beneath  which  is  the  imperial  tab- 
let, a  large  slab,  upon  which  is  carved  a 
dragon  standing  on  the  back  of  a  gigantic 
tortoise.  The  remains  of  the  emperor 
are  buried  somewhere  within  this  mound, 
though  the  exact  spot  is  not  known  :  this 
precaution,  it  is  said,  was  taken  to  pre- 
serve the  remains  from  being  desecrated 
in  a  search  for  the  treasures  which  were 
buried  with  him,  while  the  persons  who 
performed  this  last  office  were  killed 
upon  the  spot,  in  order  further  to  pre- 
serve the  secret. 

From  this  gigantic  effort  to  preserve 


13S 


SKETCHES    OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


SKETCHES    OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


129 


the  memory  of  the  dead  our  party  has- 
tened to  the  Great  Wall,  an  equally  im- 
mense work  to  preserve  the  living  from 
the  incursions  of  their  neighboring  ene- 
mies. Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  world 
are  to  be  found  in  such  close  proximity 
two  such  striking  evidences  of  the  waste 
of  human  labor  when  undirected  by  sci- 
entific knowledge.  The  wall  is  to-day, 
and  was  from  the  first,  as  worthless  for 
the  purpose  it  was  intended  to  serve  as 
the  temples  are  for  obtaining  immortal- 
ity for  the  bodies  they  enclose. 

Leaving  the  town  of  Nang-Kao,  the 
party  soon  found  themselves  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  pass  of  the  same  name, 
and  during  the  six  leagues  which  sepa- 
rated them  from  the  wall  the  spectacle 
kept  increasing  in  grandeur.  The  gorge 
at  first  was  savage  and  sombre,  shut 
in  closely  by  the  steep  mountain-sides. 
Soon  the  first  support  of  the  Great  Wall 
appeared  in  a  chain  of  walls,  with  bat- 
tlements ana"  towers,  built  over  the  prin- 
cipal mountain-chain,  and  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach  following  all  the  peaks. 
The  effect  of  this  wall. is  most  striking. 
Like  some  enormous  serpent  it  stretches 
away  in  the  distance,  climbing  rocks 
which  appear  impracticable,  and  which 
would  be  so  without  its  aid.  The  count 
was  convinced  that  it  would  be  as  dif- 
ficult to  climb  it  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
fending it  as  it  would  be  to  do  so  in 
order  to  attack  it.  This  first  support  of 
the  wall  is  in  itself  a  giant  work. 

As  the  party  advanced  in  the  val- 
ley, in  the  far  distance  the  crenelated 
outlines  of  two  other  similar  and  paral- 
lel walls  appeared,  situated  also  upon 
the  crests.  The  Great  Wall  was  built 
about  2CO  B.  c.  as  a  barrier  against  the 
Tartar  cavalry.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
built  in  twenty-two  years.  It  was  every- 
where constructed  of  the  materials  at 
hand.  On  the  plains  it  was  built  of  a 
core  of  earth,  pounded,  and  faced  with 
tiles,  the  top  being  also  covered  with 
tiles  and  furnished  with  a  parapet.  On 
the  mountains  of  stratified  rock  the 
facing  was  made  of  masonry,  and  the 
core  of  earth  and  cobble-stones.  Where 
the  rock  is  such  as  fractures  irregularly, 
9 


the  wall  is  of  solid  masonry,  tapering  to 
the  top,  which  is  sharp.  Throughout  its 
whole  length  it  is  defended  by  towers 
occurring  every  few  hundred  feet.  Ev- 
ery mountain-pass  and  weak  point  was 
defended  by  a  fortified  tower.  At  pres- 
ent the  wall  is  in  various  conditions  of 
preservation,  according  to  the  materials 
used  in  its  construction.  In  the  valleys, 
which  were  the  points  to  defend,  it  has 
gradually  crumbled  to  a  mere  heap  of 
rubbish,  which  the  plough  year  by  year 
still  further  scatters. 

The  Great  Wall  is,  however,  a  won- 
derful monument  of  the  labor  and  or- 
ganization of  the  Chinese  nation  two 
thousand  years  ago.  The  illustration  is 
from  a  photograph  taken  on  the  spot  by 
one  of  the  party.  In  order  to  take  a 
view  which  should  be  most  effective  the 
camera  was  placed  upon  the  wall  itself. 

On  their  return  to  Pekin  the  party  vis- 
ited the  ruins  of  the  famous  Summer 
Palace,  Yuen-Ming-Yuen.  The  avenues 
were  formerly  adorned  with  porticoes, 
monuments  and  kiosques,  which  are 
now  masses  of  ruins.  Only  two  enor- 
mous bronze  lions,  the  largest  castings 
ever  made  in  China,  remain,  and  these 
simply  because  the  aUies  could  not  carry 
them  away.  To  have  attempted  it  would 
have  required  the  building  of  a  dozen 
bridges  over  the  streams  between  here 
and  Tien-Tsin.  The  chapel  of  the  Sum- 
mer Palace  escaped  destruction  only 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  situated  upon 
a  rock  s'o  high  that  the  flames  did  not 
reach  it.  Looking  at  the  confused  ruins 
which  are  all  that  remain  of  this  won- 
derful collection  of  the  most  admirable 
products  of  fifteen  ages  of  civilization,  of 
art  and  of  industry,  the  count  de  Beau- 
voir  says  truly  that  no  honest  man  can 
help  shuddering  involuntarily.  Though 
his  sentiment  of  national  loyalty  is  very 
strong,  yet  he  cannot  avoid  exclaiming, 
"  Let  us  leave  this  place  :  let  us  run  from 
this  spot,  where  the  soil  burns  us,  the 
very  view  of  which  humbles  us,  W^e 
came  to  China  as  the  armed  champions 
of  civilization  and  of  a  religion  of  mercy, 
but  the  Chinese  are  right,  a  thousand 
times  right,  in  calling  us  barbarians." 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


SKETCHES    OF    EASTERN  TRAVEL. 

II.— B  ATA  VI  A. 


BAT  A  VI  A,  ho  !  and  just  ahead  at 
that !"  exclaimed  the  captain  of 
our  gallant  East  Indiaman  as  the  en- 
tire party  of  passengers  sprang  to  the 
quarter-deck  on  the  first  cry  of  "  Land 
ahead !"  It  was  scarcely  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning  —  not  dawn  between  the 
tropics — but  our  impatience  could  brook 
no  delay,  and  despite  impromptu  toilettes 
and  yet  unswabbed  decks,  with  sluices 
of  sea-water  threatening  us  at  every  turn, 
we  hastened  forward  to  catch  the  earliest 
possible  glimpse  of  the  quaint  old  city 
of  which  we  had  heard  such  varied  ac- 
counts. "You'll  think  a  good  part  of  it 
was  built  in  Holland  three  centuries 
ago,"  said  our  captain,  "then  boxed  up, 
sent  across  the  waters,  and  dropped 
down,  pell-mell,  in  the  midst  of  the 
jungle."  We  all  laughed  incredulously 
at  the  time,  but  remembered  his  words 
afterward. 

Batavia,  one  of  the  strongholds  of 
Dutch  power  in  the  East,  occupies  the 
north  -  western  extremity  of  the  island 
of  Java.  It  is  composed  of  two  distinct 
settlements,  known,  respectively,  as  the 
"  Old  City  "  and  the  "  New  City."  The 
former,  built  directly  on  the  seaboard, 
consists  mainly  of  warehouses,  stores 
and  government  offices,  with  a  pretty 
extensive  mingling  of  native  dweUings 
and  bazaars.  The  business-houses  oc- 
cupied by  Europeans  are  all  built  in  the 
old  Dutch  style  of  centuries  ago,  and 
their  venerable  appearance  is  largely 
augmented  by  the  mould  and  discolora- 
tion of  the  sea-air ;  while  the  tout  ettsem- 
ble  presents  an  ancient  and  dilapidated 
aspect  strangely  at  variance  with  the  lux- 
uriant verdure  of  the  tropical  scenery  and 
the  brilliant  tints  of  the  picturesque  Ori- 
ental costumes  everywhere  visible.  The 
New  City  is  a  terrestrial  Paradise,  with 
broad  avenues  shaded  by  majestic  trees, 
spacious  parks,  and  palace  -  dwellings 
of  indescribable  elegance — a  quaint  com- 


mingling of  city  and  country,  of  On<.rital 
luxuriousness  with  the  Hollander's  cha- 
racteristic love  of  solidity.  In  truth,  the 
New  City  is  not  a  city  at  all,  but  a  con- 
tinuous succession  of  beautiful  villas  em- 
bowered in  orange  groves,  and  surround- 
ed by  palms  and  banians,  upon  which 
climb  and  clamber  flowering  vines  and 
creepers  innumerable,  while  birds  are 
singing,  bees  humming  and  butterflies 
fluttering  their  gauzy  wings,  utterly  re- 
gardless of  the  proprieties  of  city  life. 

At  eight  o'clock  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  custom-house,  surrounded  by  Dutch 
revenue-officers,  whose  insignia  of  office 
seemed  to  consist  of  the  huge  bunches 
of  keys  with  which  they  were  armed. 
Their  stylish  uniforms  and  fair  pale  faces 
were  singularly  in  contrast  with  the 
chocolate  -  colored  skins,  naked  busts, 
scarlet  girdles  and  green  or  yellow  tur- 
bans of  the  crowds  of  native  porters 
who  stood  ready  to  take  charge  of  the 
baggage  as  fast  as  it  was  examined. 
Having  seen  our  effects  disposed  of,  we 
set  out  for  our  quarters  in  the  New  City, 
attended  by  the  Bengalese  comprador 
who  was  to  serve  as  guide  and  purveyor- 
general  during  our  stay  in  the  island. 
We  were  driven  in  the  neatest  of  pony 
palanquins,  drawn  by  horses  scarcely 
larger  than  Newfoundland  dogs,  over 
smooth,  well-shaded  roads,  amid  luxu- 
riant fields  and  meadows,  and  for  a  good 
portion  of  the  route  by  the  banks  of  a 
beautiful  canal,  all  aglow  with  busy  life. 
Here  and  there  were  sampans  and  bud- 
gerows,  some  loaded  with  merchandise, 
and  others  with  passengers,  their  light 
sails  spread  and  pennons  gayly  flaunt- 
ing in  the  breeze,  while  men,  women  and 
children,  bathing  and  swimming  in  the 
smooth  waters,  sported  like  fish  in  their 
native  element,  and  never  dreamed  of 
the  possibility  of  danger. 

Among  the  majestic  trees  that  formed 
natural  archways  above  our  heads,  shut- 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


131 


132 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


ting  out  completely  the  sun's  fervid  rays, 
we  noted  especially  the  banians  and 
cotton  trees,  the  latter  frequently  be- 
sprinkling our  heads  and  shoulders  with 
what  seemed  at  first  glance  a  shower  of 


bona  fide  snow,  but  on  examination 
proved  only  the  light,  fleecy  down  of 
sea-island  cotton.  Conspicuous  among 
the  trees  we  encountered  on  that  pleasant 
morning  drive  was  the  Pa/inier  dii  voy- 


ageur,    more    generally   known   as   the 
talipat    or    priestly    palm,    which    was 
described   in  a  recent   number  of  this 
magazine. 
One  characteristic  feature  of  Javanese 


residences  is  their  superb  baths.  The 
pools  are  usually  of  marble  or  granite, 
of  such  huge  dimensions  that  one  may 
float  and  flounder  like  fish  in  a  pond, 
while  the   superintendent  of  the   bath 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


13: 


keeps  in  constant  play  a  brace  of  jets 
that  send  their  sparkhng  spray  over  the 
bather's  head  and  shoulders  with  most 
refreshing  results.  The  water  is  clear 
as  crystal,  and  sufficiently  cool  for  the 


relaxed  state  of  the  system  in  a  tropical 
clime.  Everybody  bathes  three  times  a 
day,  and  one  would  far  sooner  dispense 
with  a  meal  than  do  without  either  of 
these  stated  baths. 


The  usual  routine  of  European  life 
in  India  is  to  rise  at  "gun-fire"  (five 
o'clock),  go  out  for  an  airing  in  boat  or 
palanquin  for  two  full  hours,  bathe  and 
dress   at   eight,  take  breakfast  at  nine, 


lunch  at  one,  and  siesta  from  two  to  four, 
when  everybody  retires,  and,  whether 
one  wishes  to  sleep  or  not,  he  is  secure 
of  interruption,  and  has  the  full  benefit 
of  being  efi  deshabille  for  the  two  most 


134 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


oppressive  hours  of  the  day.  At  four  the 
second  bath  is  taken  ;  at  five  all  go  out 
in  full  dress  in  open  carriages,  and  after 
a  rapid  drive  over  some  of  the  public 
thoroughfares,    the    horses   are   walked 


slowly  up  and  down  the  esplanade,  where 
all  the  fashionable  world  assemble  at 
this  hour  to  see  and  be  seen,  and  ex- 
change passing  courtesies  or  comments. 
At  half-past  six  "the  course"  is  deserted, 


and  brilliantly-lighted  dining-rooms  are 
thronged  with  guests  eager  to  test  the 
quality  of  the  rich  and  varied  delicacies 
of  which  an  Oriental  dinner  consists. 
This  is  the  principal  meal  of  the  day, 


and,  occupying  often  two  or  three  hours, 
it  is  made  not  merely  an  epicurean  feast, 
but  also  an  intellectual  and  social  ban- 
quet. Strong  coffee,  served  in  the  tini- 
est of  porcelain  cups,  follows  the  guests 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


135 


on  their  return  to  the  drawing-rooms, 
and  music,  conversation,  reading  and 
company  fill  up  the  hours  till  midnight, 
when  the  third  bath  is  taken  immediate- 
ly before  retiring.  This  routine  is  sel- 
dom varied,  except  by  the  arrival  of 
strangers,  bent,  like  our  party  at  Bata- 
via,  on  sight-seeing.      U'e  soon  wearied 


LIEUTENANl'    OF   THE   SULTAN'S    GUARD. 

of  the  very  voluptuousness  of  this  stereo- 
typed course  of  indulgence,  and  wel- 
comed in  preference  the  fatigues  and 
annoyances  of  exploring  the  thousand 
objects  of  interest  that  were  beckoning 
us  onward  to  jungle,  mountain  or  sea- 
coast.  Our  friends,  who  were  old  resi- 
dents, shook  their  heads  knowingly,  and 
prophesied  sunstroke  or  jungle  fever ; 
but  we  went  sight -seeing  continually, 
filled  our  specimen  baskets,  and  escaped 
both  fever  and  sunstroke.  The  climate 
of  Batavia  is,  however,  extremely  insalu- 
brious for  Europeans  :  a  deadly  miasma 
everywhere  overshadows  its  luxuriant 
groves  and  lurks  among  the  petals  of 
its  brightest  flowers,  rendering  absolutely 


necessary  regular  habits  of  life.  Before 
the  occupation  of  the  New  City,  when 
merchants  and  officers  all  resided  on 
the  seaboard,  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  their  business-places,  the  mortality 
was  fearful,  till  utter  depopulation  seem- 
ed to  threaten  the  colony.  The  inland 
location  of  the  New  City  is  more  salubri- 
ous, and  the  extensive  grounds  that 
surround  each  dwelling  give  abun- 
dant freedom  for  ventilation,  while 
the  few  hours  passed  by  business  or 
professional  gentlemen  at  their  offices 
— and  those  the  best  hours  of  the 
day,  from  breakfast  to  luncheon — 
are  not  deemed  specially  detrimental 
to  health,  even  for  foreigners.  The 
Malays,  Chinese  and  East  Indians 
generally  reside  anywhere  with  im- 
punity. 

As  our  ship  would  be  several  weeks 
in  port,  discharging  and  taking  in 
cargo,  we  availed  ourselves  of  so 
fortunate  an  opportunity  to  explore 
some  of  the  native  settlements  in  the 
interior  of  the  island.  A  Dutch  of- 
ficer, long  resident  in  Java,  kindly 
offered  his  escort,  and  obtained  for 
us  such  passes  and  other  facilities  as 
were  needed.  Our  first  stopping- 
place  was  at  Bandong,  the  capital 
of  one  of  the  finest  provinces  of  Java. 
It  is  under  the  nominal  control  of  a 
native  prince,  who  bears  the  title  of 
"  regent,"  holding  his  office  under  the 
government  of  Holland,  from  which 
he  receives  an  annuity  of  about  forty 
thousand  dollars.  Among  the  natives 
he  maintains  the  state  of  a  grand  Orien- 
tal monarch,  and  his  subjects  prostrate 
themselves  in  profoundest  reverence  be- 
fore him  ;  but  both  he  and  his  domain 
are  really  controlled  by  half  a  dozen  res- 
ident Hollanders,  at  the  head  of  whom 
is  the  prefect.  The  palace  of  the  regent 
is  a  massive  structure,  completely  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  gardens  ;  and  just 
beneath  the  windows  where  we  sat  I 
noticed  a  picturesque  little  lake,  about 
which  were  sporting  joyously  at  the 
evening  hour  a  group  of  the  young  maid- 
ens of  the  palace.  They  were  graceful 
and  lovely  in  the  careless  abandon  of 
their  glee,  but  they  no  sooner  perceived 


136 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


the  white  faces  of  the  foreigners  looking 
down  at  them  than  they  fled  hke  fright- 
ened doves,  hiding  themselves  in  a 
grove  of  bananas,  in  any  single  leaf  of 
which  .one  of  these  dainty  demoiselles 
might  have  clothed  herself  entire. 

We  found  the  regent  surrounded  by 
crowds  of  native  attendants,  among 
whose  prostrate  forms  we  wended  our 
way  to  his  presence.  He  was  seated 
on  a  raised  dais  at  the  upper  end  of 
the  audience  -  hall,  and  received  us 
with  the  courteous  dignity  of  a  well- 
bred  gentleman.  His  dress  was  that 
ordinarily  worn  by  Malayan  rajahs — 
a  brocade  silk  sarcDi^  fastened  bv  a 
rich  girdle,  a  loose  upper  garment  of 
fine  muslin,  and  a  massive  turban  of 
blue  silk  wrought  in  figures  of  gold. 
Costly  but  clumsy  Arabic  sandals, 
and  a  diamond-hiked  kris  or  dagger 
of  fabulous  value,  completed  a  cos- 
tume that  looked  both  graceful  and 
comfortable  for  a  warm  climate.  He 
greeted  the  ladies  of  our  party  with 
marked  empressement,  thanked  them 
for  their  visit,  and  conducted  them  in 
person  to  the  entrance  of  the  sera- 
gho  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  his 
wives  and  daughters. 

The  next  evening  we  were  all  in- 
vited to  be  present  at  the  gaiunie- 
lang,  or  orchestral  and  dramatic  en- 
tertainment, in  the  harem  of  this 
prince.  The  invitation  was  gladly 
accepted,  and  so  novel  an  exhibi- 
tion I  have  seldom  witnessed. 
Many  of  the  musicians  were  masked, 
and  wore  queer-looking,  conical  caps 
that  looked  like  exaggerated  extinguish- 
ers, and  a  sort  of  light  armor  in  which 
their  unaccustomed  limbs  were  evidently 
ill  at  ease.  Occupying  a  conspicuous 
position  in  the  very  front,  I  noticed  a 
Siamese  rahiiat  -  player,  robed  in  the 
native  dress — or  rather  ;^;zdress — of  his 
country,  and  his  hair  cut  a  la  Bangkok. 
He  was  singularly  expert  in  the  use  of 
his  instrument;  and  1  learned  afterward 
that,  though  taken  to  Java  as  a  slave, 
his  great  musical  talents  had  won  for 
him  not  only  liberty,  but  the  highest  fa- 
vor of  the  regent  of  Bandong.  He  was 
the  only  rahnat-player  in  the   gamme- 


lang,  but  there  were  some  two  hundred 
timbrels,  half  a  dozen  drums,  ten  or 
twelve  tom-toms,  twenty  violins,  si.\teen 
pairs  of  cymbals,  and  any  imaginable 
number  of  horns,  flutes  and  flageolets. 
I  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  the  amount 
of  noise  produced  by  such  a  combina- 
tion :  my  ears  did  not  cease  tingling  for 


SOLDIER    OF   THE   SULTAN'S   GUARD. 

a  week.  But  everybody  praised  the  mu- 
sic, and  evidently  enjoyed  the  fun.  The 
dancing  was  like  all  Oriental  dancing, 
very  voluptuous  and  enthusiastic, adapted 
especially  to  display  the  exquisite  charms 
of  the  performers  and  move  the  passions 
of  the  audience.  The  play  that  followed 
possessed  no  merit,  except  in  the  bewil- 
dering beauty  of  the  girlish  actresses, 
and  their  superb  adornments  of  natural 
flowers  artisticallv  arranged  in  coronets 
and  wreaths,  with  costly  pearls  and  dia- 
monds. The  play  itself  was  simply  a 
farce — a  series  of  ridiculous  passages  be- 
tween some  lovesick  swains  and  their 
rather  tantalizing  lady-loves,  who  event- 
ually escaped,  amid  a  shower  of  roses 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


137 


and  bon-bons,  from  their  pursuers,  and 
disappeared  behind  a  huge  pahii  tree, 
which  the  next  instant  had  vanished 
into  air,  roots,  branches  and  all. 

After  a  somewhat  adventurous  ascent 
of  Mount  Tan-kon-bau-pra-hou,  a  hur- 
ried visit  to  the  volcanoes  of  Merbabou 
and  Derapi  (the  former  nine  thousand 
feet  high,  the  latter  eight  thousand  five 
hundred),  and  a  glimpse  at  the  sacred 
woods  of  Wah-Wons,  we  turned  our  faces 
toward  Sourakarta  and  Djokjokarta,  the 
two  grand  principalities  of  Java  still  re- 
maining under  native  rule.  Each  is 
governed  by  an  independent  sultan, 
whom  the  Dutch  have  never  been  able 
to  subjugate  ;  and  they  are  allowed,  only 
by  sufferance,  to  keep  a  diplomatic  agent 
or  "resident"  at  the  courts  of  these 
monarchs.  We  had  been  forewarned, 
ere  setting  out  on  our  tour,  of  the  state 
maintained  by  these  proud  Oriental 
princes,  and  the  utter  impossibility  of 
obtaining  an  audience  without  fulfilling 
to  the  very  letter  all  the  requirements  of 
courtly  usage.  So  we  had  sent  forward 
some  costly  presents  to  each  of  the  sul- 
tans, with  letters  written  in  Arabic  and 
French,  praying  for  the  honor  of  an  in- 
terview. Our  messenger  to  the  court  of 
Sourakarta  soon  returned,  accompanied 
by  a  native  officer  and  five  soldiers  in 
full  uniform,  with  a  courteous  letter  of 
welcome  from  the  sultan  to  his  capital. 
He  did  not  say  to  his  court,  and  we 
were  left  in  doubt  as  to  whether  we 
should  see  him,  after  all.  But  the  day 
of  our  entree  was  a  most  propitious  one, 
as  on  that  very  morning  this  renowned 
monarch  had  been  made  the  happy 
father  of  his  twenty-eighth  child.  To 
this  fortunate  event  we  doubtless  owed 
our  reception  at  the  court  of  this  very 
exclusive  potentate,  who,  we  were  told, 
almost  invariably  declined  the  proffered 
civilities  of  foreigners.  Bonfires,  illumi- 
nations and  processions  seemed  the  or- 
der of  the  day,  business  was  suspended, 
bells  were  ringing,  gongs  sounding,  and 
everybody  was  taking  holiday,  in  com- 
memoration of  an  event  that  seemed  to 
have  lost  none  of  its  novelty  even  after 
nearly  a  score  and  a  half  of  repetitions. 

The  palace  is  built  in  pagoda  form. 


with  abundant  architectural  adornments, 
and  is  surrounded  by  a  semicircle  of 
smaller  buildings  of  much  the  same  ap- 
pearance, though  somewhat  less  im- 
posing. The  grandest  view  is  at  night, 
when  the  whole  immense  pile,  from  base 
to  turret,  is  one  blaze  of  light  that  but 
for  the  abundant  tropical  growth  might 
be  seen  for  miles  away.  The  sultan  is 
a  well-informed  and  courtly  gentleman, 
with  a  polish  of  mind  and  manners  we 
were  quite  unprepared  to  find  hidden 
away  in  the  heart  of  Java.  He  is  said 
to  be  the  most  distinguished  of  all  the 
Malayan  princes  of  this  isle.  He  con- 
versed with  readiness  on  the  general 
aspect  of  political  affairs  in  Europe  and 
America,  inquired  for  the  latest  intelli- 
gence, and  before  we  left  invited  us  to 
be  present  at  a  grand  military  review 
on  the  following  day.  The  garb  of  the 
troops,  both  officers  and  men,  consists 
of  long  silken  sarangs  confined  by  em- 
broidered girdles,  gold  or  silver  bangles  in 
lieu  of  boots,  and  costly  turbans  adorned 
with  precious  stones — a  garb  that  looked 
better  suited  to  the  harem  than  the  bat- 
tle-field ;  but  their  manoeuvres  certainly 
did  credit  to  their  royal  instructor  in 
military  tactics.  The  distinguishing 
weapon  of  Malayan  soldiers,  both  in 
Java  and  elsewhere,  is  the  kris,  worn  at 
the  back  and  passed  into  the  girdle. 
This  is  always  carried  both  by  officers 
and  men,  and  very  frequently  civilians : 
the  long  sword  is  worn  only  by  officers. 
After  the  review  we  were  presented  to 
the  sultan's  eldest  son,  a  tall  slender 
young  man,  somewhat  over  twenty,  with 
fierce,  gleaming  black  eyes,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  black  hair  falling  below  his 
shoulders.  His  countenance  indicated 
both  intelligence  and  firmness,  and  his 
appearance  might  have  been  distingue 
but  for  his  strangely  effeminate  dress  of 
damask  silk  made  like  a  girl's,  his  anklets 
and  bracelets,  gold  chains  and  jeweled 
girdle,  and  a  mitre-shaped  coiffure  of 
black  and  gold  studded  with  enormous 
diamonds,  any  one  of  which  would  make 
the  fortune  of  a  Pall-Mall  pawnbroker. 
A  score  of  attendants  about  his  own  age 
were  standing  at  the  back  of  the  young 
heir,  while  four  diminutive  dwarfs  and 


I3S 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


four  jesters  in  comic  garb  crouched  at 
his  feet,  and  innumerable  other  subordi- 
nates— such  as  the  fan-holder,  the  hand- 
kerchief-holder, the  tea-  and  bouquet- 
holders,  etc.  etc. — made  up  the  retinue 


of  this  youthful  dignitary.  At  a  subse- 
quent interview  the  sonsou/wutian  pre- 
sented me  to  his  mother  and  several 
other  ladies  of  the  royal  harem.  The 
sultan  was  first  married  at  the  age  of 


THE   ELDEST    SON    OK   THE   SULTAN    OF   SOURAKARTA. 


twelve,  and  had  at  the  time  of  our  visit 
forty-eight  wives. 

There  is  very  much  to  interest  the 
tourist  in  this  Javanese  city,  so  unlike 
the  Anglo-Oriental  settlements  one  meets 


elsewhere  in  the  East,  nor  does  he  soon 
weary  of  its  noble  sultan  and  splendid 
Oriental  court;  but  time  forbade  our 
tarrying  longer  than  the  third  day,  after 
which  we  pressed  onward  to  the  neigh- 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


139 


boring  principality  of  Djokjokarta.  This 
is  the  name  most  conspicuous  in  Java- 
nese history,  since  there,  from  1825  to 
1830,  floated  victoriously  the  colors  of 
the  revolt,  and  victory  was  purchased  at 


last  only  by  the  blood  of  fifteen  thousand 
soldiers,  of  whom  eight  thousand  were 
Europeans,  and  Djokjokarta  remained 
as  it  vvas  before,  an  independent  sove- 
reignty.    The  sultan,  who  belongs  to  an 


THE   SULTAN    OF   DJOKJOKARTA. 


ancient  family,  is  fine-looking,  with  a 
somewhat  martial  air,  and  a  native  dig- 
nity evidently  the  heritage  of  high  birth. 
On  our  first  interview  he  wore  above  the 
ordinary  silk  sarang  a  tight-fitting  jacket 


of  French  broadcloth  (blue),  richly  em- 
broidered and  trimmed  with  gold  lace. 
He  displayed  also  a  collection  of  crosses, 
stars,  and  other  decorations  conferred 
by  various  European  powers,  the  French 


I40 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


predominating.  He  had  evidently  a 
partiality  for  la  belle  France,  and  ex- 
hibited with  no  little  pride  an  album 
containing  photographs  of  Louis  Phi- 
lippe and  Louis  Napoleon.  He  con- 
versed well  in  several  languages,  read- 
ily using  either  Arabic  or  French  in  lieu 
of  his  vernacular,  and  was  evidently  up 
to  time  in  regard  to  the  current  polit- 
ical topics  of  the  day.  He  introduced 
the  ladies  of  our  party  to  his  young  and 
beautiful  sultana,  and  invited  them  to 
accompany  her  to  the  inner  apartments 
of  the  harem.  We  found  the  private 
apartments  of  the  seraglio,  like  so  many 
others  I  visited  all  over  the  East,  superb- 
ly magnificent  in  the  display  of  gold  and 
jewels,  in  costly  carpets  and'  exquisite 
hangings,  in  the  most  lavish  exhibition 
of  pictures,  mirrors,  statuettes  and  bijou- 
terie generally.  There  were  glowing 
tints  and  warm,  rich  colors,  but  all  was 
sensuous :    wealth    and   splendor  were 


everywhere  visible,  but  neither  modesty 
nor  true  womanly  refinement. 

The  sultan  afterward  entertained  us 
by  the  exhibition  of  a  curious  collection 
of  monkeys  and  apes.  Some  were  of 
huge  proportions,  full  four  feet  in  height, 
and  looking  as  fierce  as  if  just  captured 
from  their  native  jungles,  while  the  tiny 
marmosets  were  scarcely  eight  inches 
long.  The  orang  -  outangs  and  long- 
armed  apes  had  been  trained  to  go 
through  a  variety  of  military  exercises  ; 
and  when  one  of  us  expressed  surprise 
at  their  seeming  intelligence,  the  sultan 
said  gravely,  "They  are  as  really  men 
as  you  and  \,  and  have  the  power  of 
speech  if  tJiey  chose  to  exercise  it.  They 
do  not  talk,  because  they  are  unwilling 
to  work  and  be  made  slaves  of."  This 
strange  theory  is  generally  believed  by 
the  Malays,  in  whose  language  orang- 
outang is  simply  ''man  of  the  woods." 
Faxxie  R.  Feudge. 


SKETCHES    OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


141 


SKETCHES    OF    EASTERN   TRAVEL. 
III.— BANGKOK. 


WE  left  Singapore — which,  though 
an  English  colony,  is  a  very  Ba- 
bel of  languages  and  nations — in  a  Bom- 
bay merchantman,  whose  captain  was 
an  Arab,  the  cook  Chinese,  and  the  four- 
teen men  who  composed  the  crew  belong- 
ed to  at  least  half  that  many  different  na- 
tions, whilst  our  party  in  the  cabin  were 
English,  Scotch,  French  and  American. 
After  eight  days  of  rather  stormy  weath- 
er we  disembarked  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Meinam  River,  thirty  miles  below  the 
city  of  Bangkok.  Owing  to  the  sand- 
bar at  the  mouth,  large  vessels  must 
either  partially  unload  outside,  or  wait 
for  the  flood-tide  when  the  moon  is  full 
to  pass  the  bar ;  and  to  avoid  the  delay 
consequent  upon  either  course,  we  took 
passage  for  the  city  in  a  native  sampan 
pulled  by  eight  men  with  long  slender 
oars.  The  trip  was  a  delightful  one, 
giving  us  enchanting  glimpses  of  the 
grand  old  city  long  before  we  reached 
it.  Amid  the  mass  of  tropical  foliage, 
gleaming  out  from  among  clustering 
palms  and  graceful  banians,  we  could 
discern  the  gilded  spires  of  gorgeous 
temples  and  palaces,  of  which  Bangkok 
boasts  probably  not  less  than  two  hun- 
dred. The  temples,  with  their  glittering 
tiles  of  green  and  gold,  and  graceful 
turrets  and  pinnacles  from  which  hang 
tiny  tinkling  bells  that  ring  out  sweet 
music  with  every  passing  breeze,  their 
tall,  slender  pagodas  and  picturesque 
monasteries,  stand  all  along  the  banks 
of  the  river,  its  most  conspicuous  adorn- 
ments. But  pre-eminent,  both  for  height 
and  splendor,  is  Wat  Chang,  visible,  all 
but  its  base,  from  the  very  mouth  of  the 
river.  Its  central  spire,  full  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  towers  grandly  above 
the  surrounding  turrets  and  pagodas,  the 
white  walls  gleaming  out  from  the  dark 
foliage  of  the  banian,  and  the  feathery 
fringes  of  the  palm  reflected  on  its  shin- 
ing roof. 
The  two  main  entrances  to  the  royal 


palace  are  of  white  masonry  very  elab- 
orately adorned.  Groups  of  elegant  col- 
umns support  a  capital  composed  of 
nine  crowns  rising  one  above  the  other, 
and  terminating  in  a  slender  spire  of 
some  forty  feet.  The  whole  is  inlaid  in 
exquisite  mosaics  of  porcelain,  the  va- 
rious colors  arranged  in  quaint  devices, 
so  as  to  produce  the  happiest  effect, 
while  the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays 
upon  the  glazed  tiles,  the  numberless 
turrets  and  pinnacles  of  the  lofty  pile, 
and  the  porticoes  and  balconies  of  pure 
white  marble  opening  from  every  win- 
dow, and  leading  to  delectable  conser- 
vatories, luxurious  baths  or  fairy  groves 
and  arbors,  present,  as  grouped  togeth- 
er, a  sight  worth  a  trip  across  the  waters 
to  enjoy.  The  engraving  represents  one 
of  these  entrances,  and  His  Majesty 
Somdetch  Phra  Paramendr  Maha  Mong- 
kut,  the  late  supreme  king  of  Siam,  on 
his  return  from  his  usual  afternoon  prom- 
enade. This  "promenade,"  however, 
was  not  a  walk,  a  ride  or  a  drive,  but  an 
airing  in  one  of  the  royal  state  barges. 
For  the  late  king,  true  to  the  usages  of 
his  forefathers,  continued  to  the  very 
close  of  his  life  to  make  all  his  tours, 
public  and  private,  with  very  rare  ex- 
ceptions, by  water.  This  has  heretofore 
been  the  custotn  of  all  classes,  the  gen- 
tly-flowing Meinam  being  the  Broadway 
of  Bangkok,  and  canals,  intersecting  the 
city  in  every  direction,  its  cross  streets. 
Every  family  keeps  one  or  more  boats 
and  a  full  complement  of  rowers ;  pal- 
aces and  temples  have  their  gates  on 
the  river;  and  upon  its  placid  waters 
move  in  ever-varying  panorama  life's 
shifting  scenes  of  weddings  and  funerals, 
business  and  pleasure,  from  early  morn 
till  long  past  midnight.  Only  since  the 
accession  of  the  present  kings  have 
streets  been  constructed  along  the  river- 
banks  ;  and  these  young  princes,  as  a 
sort  of  concession  to  European  customs, 
now  take  occasional  drives  in  open  car- 


T42 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


143 


riages,  attended  by  liveried  servants, 
though  for  state  processions  boats  are 
still  in  vogue.  His  Majesty  the  late  king 
was  ordinarily  conveyed  to  the  jetty  in 
a  state  palanquin,  and  handed  from  it 


into  his  boat,  without  the  sole  of  his  boot 
ever  touching  the  ground.  This  has 
been  the  custom  of  Siamese  monarchs 
from  time  immemorial,  but  I  have  some- 
times  seen   both  the   late   kings   wavt 


ELEPHANT   ARMED    FOR    WAR. 


aside  their  bearers  and  jump  with  agile 
dexterity  into  their  boats,  as  if  it  were  a 
relief  to  them  to  lay  aside  courtly  eti- 
quette and  act  like  ordinary  mortals. 
The  royal  palanquins  are  completely  cov- 


ered with  plates  of  pure  gold  inlaid  with 
pearls,  and  the  cushions  are  of  velvet 
embroidered,  and  edged  with  heavy  gold 
lace.  They  are  borne  by  sixteen  men 
robed  in  azure  silk  sarangs  and  shirts  of 


144 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN   TRAVEL. 


embroidered  muslin.  The  umbrella  is 
of  blue,  crimson  or  purple  silk,  and  for 
state  occasions  is  richly  embroidered, 
and  studded  with  precious  stones.  So 
also  are  those  placed  over  the  throne, 


the  sofa,  or  whatever  seat  the  king  hap- 
pens to  occupy. 

The  late  supreme  king,  who  died  in 
1868  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  was  tall  and 
slender  in  person,  of  intellectual  coun- 


X 

o 

o 
o 

B 


o 


tenance  and  noble,  commanding  pres- 
ence. His  ordinary  dress  was  of  heavy, 
dark  silk,  richly  embroidered,  with  the 
occasional  addition  of  a  military  coat. 
He  wore  also  the  decorations  of  several 
orders,  and  a  crown — not  the  large  one, 


which  is  worn  but  once  in  a  lifetime,  and 
that  on  the  coronation-day — but  the  one 
for  regular  use,  which  is  of  fine  gold, 
conical  in  shape  and  the  rim  completely 
surrounded  by  a  circlet  of  magnificent 
diamonds.     This  prince,  the  most  illus- 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


U5 


trious  of  all  the  kings  of  Siam,  spent 
many  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  the 
priesthood  as  high  priest  of  the  kingdom. 
He  was  a  profound  scholar,  not  only  in 


Oriental  lore,  but  in  many  European 
tongues  and  in  the  sciences.  In  public 
he  was  rather  reticent,  but  in  the  retire- 
ment of  the  social  circle  and  among  his 


FUNERAL    PILE   FOR   THE   SECOND    KING. 


European  friends  the  real  symmetry  of 
his  noble  character  was  fully  displayed, 
winning  not  only  the  reverence  but  the 
warm  affection  of  all  who  knew  him. 
He  died  universally  regretted,  and  the 
young  prince  now  reigning  as  supreme 

10 


king  is   his  eldest   surviving  son :    the 
second  king  is  his  nephew. 

Among  the  choice  treasures  of  Siam 
are  her  elephants,  but  they  belong  ex- 
clusively to  the  Crown,  and  may  be  em- 
ployed   only   at    the    royal   command. 


146 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


They  are  used  in  state  processions  and 
in  traveling  by  the  king  and  members 
of  the  royal  family,  and  in  war  at  the 
king's  mandate  only.  It  is  death  for  a 
Siamese  subject,  unbidden  by  his  sove- 
reign, to  mount  one  of  His  Majesty's  ele- 
phants. In  war  they  are  considered  very 
effective,  their  immense  size  and  weight 
alone  rendering  them  exceedingly  de- 
structive in  trampling  down  and  crush- 
ing foot-soldiers.  The  howdah  is  placed 
well  up  on  the  animal's  back,  and  in  it 
sits  a  military  officer  of  high  rank,  with 
an  iron  helmet  on  his  head,  and  above 
him  a  seven-layered  umbrella,  as  the 
insignia  of  his  royal  commission.  On 
the  croup  sits  the  groom,  guiding  the 
royal  beast  with  an  iron  hook,  while  all 
about  the  officer  are  disposed  lances, 
javelins,  pikes,  helmets  and  other  mu- 
nitions of  war,  which  he  dispenses  as 
they  are  needed  during  the  progress  of 
a  battle.  I  have  been  told  that  as  many 
as  six  or  seven  hundred  of  these  colossal 
creatures  are  often  marched  and  mar- 
shaled in  battle  together ;  and  so  per- 
fectly are  they  trained  as  to  be  guided 
and  controlled  without  difficulty,  even 
amid  the  din  of  firearms  and  the  con- 
flict of  contending  armies.  Sometimes 
on  the  king's  journeys  into  the  interior 
a  train  of  fifty  or  sixty  will  be  marched 
in  perfect  order,  their  stately  stepping 
beautiful  to  behold,  but  their  huge  feet 
coming  down  with  a  jolt  that  threatens 
to  dislocate  every  joint  of  the  unfortunate 
rider. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  gorgeousness  of 
the  Bangkok  temples,  but  I  must  not 
forget  to  mention  the  colossal  statue  of 
Booddh  that  reposes  in  one  of  them.  It 
isone  hundred  and  seventy  feet  in  length, 
of  solid  masonry,  perfectly  covered  with 
a  plating  of  pure  gold,  and  rests  quite 
naturally  upon  the  right  side,  the  recum- 
bent position  indicating  the  dreamless 
repose  the  god  now  enjoys  in  nirwatia. 
This  is  supposed  to  be  the  largest  image 
of  Gautama,  the  fourth  Booddh,  in  ex- 
istence, and  it  is  an  object  of  the  pro- 
foundest  veneration  to  every  devout 
Booddhist. 

Incremation  of  the  dead  is  the  custom 
in  Siam,  and  while  there  I  was  present 


at  several  royal  funerals,  each  marked 
by  more  lavish  display  of  costly  mag- 
nificence than  we  Americans  ever  see 
on  this  side  the  water.  Shortly  after  \ 
left  the  country  occurred  the  death  of 
the  patriotic  second  king,  so  well  and 
favorably  known  among  us  as  Prince 
T.  Momfanoi,  the  introducer  of  square- 
rigged  vessels  and  many  other  improve- 
ments, and  afterward  as  King  Somdet 
Phra  Pawarendr  Kamesr  Maha  Waresr. 
The  body  was  embalmed,  and  lay  in 
state  for  nearly  a  year  before  the  burn- 
ing took  place.  The  count  de  Beauvoir 
reached  Bangkok  just  in  time  to  see  the 
royal  catafalque,  of  which  he  gives  a 
somewhat  amusing  account.  He  says  : 
"The  body,  having  been  thoroughly 
dried  by  mercury,  was  so  doubled  that 
the  head  and  feet  came  together,  and 
after  being  tied  up  like  a  sausage  was 
deposited  in  a  golden  urn  on  the  top  of 
the  mausoleum."  ^  He  speaks  of  the 
state  officers  in  attendance  by  day  and 
by  night,  and  the  dead  king,  from  the 
golden  urn  on  the  very  summit  of  the 
altar,  holding  his  court  with  the  same 
pomp  and  parade  as  during  his  life. 
A  more  affecting  ceremony  is  the  com- 
ing at  noon  and  eve  of  the  crowds  of 
beautiful  women,  not  yet  absolved  from 
their  wifely  vows,  to  converse  with  their 
loved  and  lamented  lord,  and  the  de- 
positing of  letters  and  petitions  in  the 
great  golden  basket  at  the  foot  of  the 
mausoleum,  with  the  confident  expecta- 
tion that  these  loving  missives  will  reach 
the  deceased  and  be  answered  by  him. 
These  royal  catafalques  are  costly  and 
magnificent,  being  covered  with  plates 
of  gold,  while  the  silks  and  perfumes 
consumed  with  a  single  body  cost  thou- 
sands of  dollars. 

M.  de  Beauvoir  describes  an  interview 
with  the  king,  surrounded  by  ten  of  his 
offspring,  including  the  seventy-second 
child.  I  well  remember  the  eldest  son, 
the  present  supreme  king,  now  in  his 
twentieth  year,  looking  when  five  years 
old  the  exact  counterpart  of  this  one — 
his  graceful  little  figure,  dimpled  cheeks, 
eyes  lustrous  as  diamonds,  and  the 
glossy,  raven  hair,  close  shaven  at  the 
back,  while  the  foretop  was  coiled  in  a 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


147 


smooth  knot,  fastened  with  jeweled  pins 
and  twined  with  fragrant  flowers.  The 
dress  was  very  simple — only  two  gar- 
ments of  silk  or  embroidered  muslin — 
but  the  deficiency  was  more  than  made 


up  by  jewelry,  of  which,  in  the  form  of 
chains,  rings,  anklets  and  bracelets,  he 
wore  almost  incredible  quantities,  while 
his  golden  girdle  was  studded  with  costly 
diamonds. 


Polygamy  prevails  in  its  fullest  extent 
in  Siam,  especially  among  those  of  noble 
or  royal  lineage  ;  and  the  higher  the 
rank   the  larger  the  number  of  wives, 


ordinarily  to  five  or  six  hundred.  Of 
these,  the  "superior  wife"  holds  the 
rank  of  queen  :  she  resides  within  the 
harem    proper,   where   are   the   private 


those  of  the  supreme  king  amounting  1  apartments  of  the  king,  and  her  children 


mS 


SKETCHES   OF  EASTERN  TRAVEL. 


ENTRANCE   TO    THE    ROYAL    HAREM. 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE   PATAGONIANS. 


149 


are  always  the  legal  heirs.  For  the  other 
wives  or  concubines,  their  children  and 
attendants,  there  is  a  whole  circle  of 
buildings,  connected  by  balconies  with 
the  palace  royal.  All  these  are  hand- 
somely fitted  up,  but  what  is  called  "the 
harem  "  pre-eminently  is  more  gorgeous 
than  our  dreams  of  fairy  palaces  or  en- 
chanted castles  of  genii.  Long  suites  of 
apartments  with  frescoed  walls,  ceilings 
of  gold  and  pearl,  floors  inlaid  with  ex- 
quisite mosaics  of  silver  and  ebony,  and 
with  hangings  of  costly  lace,  velvet  and 
satin,  huge  waxen  candles,  and  lamps 
fed  with  perfumed  oil  that  are  never  suf- 
fered to  expire,  mirrors,  pictures,  and 
statuettes  innumerable,  with  cups,  basins, 
and  even  spittoons,  of  pure  gold, — all 
these  are  but  a  tithe  of  the  lavish  adorn- 
ments of  this  Oriental  paradise,  where 


birds  sing,  flowers  bloom,  and  the  sounds 
of  low  sweet  music  ever  greet  the  ear  of 
the  favored  visitor.  The  accompanying 
engraving  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
general  appearance  of  the  entrance  to 
the  harem,  with  its  burnished  roof  of 
green  and  gold,  its  graceful  turrets  and 
mosque-like  pinnacles,  and  its  base  of 
pure  white  marble,  chaste  and  elegant. 
But  neither  language  nor  pictorial  illus- 
tration can  convey  to  the  mind  any 
adequate  realization  of  its  bewildering 
beauty  ;  and  Count  de  Beauvoir  but 
echoes  the  language  of  every  traveler 
who  has  visited  Bangkok  when  he  de- 
clares, in  his  recent  work,  that  "  its  tem- 
ples and  palaces  are  the  most  splendid 
of  even  the  gorgeous  East." 

Fannie  R.  Feudge. 


AT   HOME   WITH    THE   PATAGONIANS. 

BY   GEORGE    CHAWORTH  MUSTERS. 
I. 


IN  April,  1869,  chance  took  me  to  the 
remote  colony  of  the  Falkland  Isl- 
ands, with  the  purpose  of  taking  thence 
a  passage  to  Buenos  Ayres  to  arrange 
some  business-matters.  During  my  stay 
in  the  settlement  the  coast  of  Patagonia, 
in  the  survey  of  which  H.  M.  S.  Nassau 
was  then  engaged,  formed  a  frequent 
topic  of  conversation.  I  had  formerly, 
when  stationed  on  the  south-east  coast 
of  America,  read  with  delight  Mr.  Dar- 
win's work  on  South  America,  as  well 
as  Fitzroy's  admirable  Narrative  of  the 
Voyage  of  the  Beagle,  and  had  ever 
since  entertained  a  strong  desire  to  pen- 
etrate, if  possible,  the  little-known  in- 


terior of  the  countr)'.  Now,  at  length, 
a  favorable  opportunity  seemed  to  have 
arrived  for  carr\-ing  out  the  cherished 
scheme  of  traversing  the  countr^^  from 
Punta  Arenas  to  the  Rio  Negro,  Valdivia, 
or  even  to  Buenos  Ayres.  The  accounts 
given  me  of  the  Tehuelche  character 
and  of  the  glorious  excitement  of  the 
chase  after  the  guanaco,  graphically  de- 
scribed by  a  seaman,  Sam  Bonner,  who 
had  been  much  on  the  coast  and  had 
resided  at  the  Santa  Cruz  station,  made 
me  more  than  ever  anxious  to  prosecute 
this  plan ;  and,  having  a  tolerable  ac- 
quaintance with  Spanish,  which  lan- 
guage many  of  the  Indians  know  well, 


i^o 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


it  seemed  to  me  possible  to  safely  trav- 
erse the  country  in  company  with  some 
one  or  other  of  their  wandering  parties. 
Accordingly,  I  bestirred  myself  to  ob- 
tain information  as  to  the  best  way  of 
getting  such  an  introduction  to  the  In- 
dians as  would  probably  secure  their 
consent ;  to  which  end  most  material 
assistance  was  afforded  by  Mr.  Dean  of 
Stanley,  who  kindly  provided  me  with 
letters  of  introduction  to  Captain  Luiz 
Piedra  Buena,  an  intelligent  Argentine 
well  known  in  Stanley,  the  owner  of  a 
schooner — in  which  he  worked  the  seal- 
fisheries  on  the  coast — and  also  of  a 
trading-station  at  the  Middle  Island,  on 
the  Santa  Cruz  River. 

This  settlement  consists  of  only  three 
houses,  built  on  an  island  called  "Pa- 
bon,"  marked  as  Middle  Island,  in  Islet 
Reach,  in  Fitzroy's  chart.  Don  Luiz  P. 
Buena  holds  it  by  virtue  of  a  grant  from 
the  Argentine  government,  which  has 
also  conferred  on  him  the  commission 
of  captain  in  the  navy,  with  power  to 
prevent  all  foreign  sealers  from  tres- 
passing on  the  valuable  seal-fisheries  on 
the  coast.  The  island  is  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  long,  and  has  an  average 
breadth  of  some  three  hundred  and  fifty 
yards.  Access  is  obtained  from  the 
south  shore  by  a  ford,  about  fifty  yards 
across,  only  passable  at  low  water.  The 
northern  channel  is  wider  and  deeper, 
and  the  swiftness  of  the  current  renders 
it  impassable  save  by  a  boat,  which  is 
moored  ready  to  ferry  over  Indians  de- 
sirous of  trading,  and  is  also  useful  for 
bringing  wood  for  fuel,  which  is  not  ob- 
tainable on  the  island.  About  a  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  ford  stands  the  prin- 
cipal house,  substantially  built  of  bricks, 
with  tiled  roof,  containing  three  rooms, 
and  a  sort  of  porch  to  shelter  a  nine- 
pounder  commanding  the  entrance.  It 
is  further  defended  by  a  stockade,  over 
which  floats  the  Argentine  flag,  and  be- 
yond it  a  fosse,  which  is  filled  with  water 
by  the  spring  tides.  The  object  of  these 
fortifications  is  to  afford  protection  in 
case  of  the  Indians  proving  troublesome 
when  under  the  influence  of  rum.  A 
second  house  was  situated  about  fifty 
yards  off,  and  being  generally  used  as  a 


store,  bore  the  name  of  the  Almacen  . 
at  this  time  being  empty,  one  room  served 
as  a  sleeping-place  for  some  of  the  men, 
and  the  other  had  been  given  up  for  the 
accommodation  of  Casimiro — an  Indian 
of  whom  both  the  missionaries  and  Her 
Majesty's  surveyors  have  made  frequent 
mention — and  his  family.  A  third  house, 
which  stood  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
island,  was  unoccupied.  Near  it  a  small 
plot  had  been  tilled,  and  potatoes,  tur- 
nips and  other  vegetables  had  been  suc- 
cessfully raised.  As  the  lower  part  of 
the  island  is  liable  to  be  overflowed  at 
high  springs,  a  ditch  had  been  cut  across 
to  drain  off  the  water,  and  there  was 
consequently  no  lack  of  irrigation.  The 
ground  was  covered  with  stunted  bushes, 
the  small  spike-thorn  round  thistle  and 
coarse  grass.  The  few  sheep  appeared 
to  thrive  well,  but  decreased  very  sensi- 
bly in  number  during  the  winter,  as  on 
days  when  game  was  scarce  one  fell  a 
victim  to  the  ravenous  appetite  engen- 
dered by  the  keen  air  of  Patagonia.  A 
numerous  troop  of  horses  grazed  on  the 
mainland,  in  a  tract  below  the  Southern 
Barranca,  called  the  "Potrero,"  where 
the  grass,  though  coarse,  grew  in  rank 
luxuriance.  When  wanted  for  hunting, 
the  entire  stud  was  brought  across  the 
river  in  the  morning  and  driven  into  the 
corral,  but  ordinarily  one  alone  was  kept 
on  the  island  ready  for  emergencies. 

With  Don  Luiz  P.  Buena  and  his  ami- 
able and  accomplished  seiiora  I  subse- 
quently made  acquaintance  which  ripen- 
ed into  friendship,  but,  though  his  guest, 
I  was  at  present  personally  unknown  to 
him.  In  his  absence,  his  representative, 
Mr.  Clarke,  whom  I  had  known  some 
years  previously  in  the  Falklands,  did 
all  he  could  to  make  me  feel  at  home. 
He  was  a  handsome  young  fellow  of 
twenty-five,  and  an  excellent  specimen 
of  the  versatile  and  cosmopolitan  New 
Englander,  "raised"  in  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  had  been  brought  up 
as  a  builder,  though  he  afterward  "ship- 
ped himself  on  board  of  a  ship."  In 
his  nautical  life  he  had  been  mate  of  the 
Snow  Squall,  in  a  homeward  voyage 
from  Shanghai,  when  she  was  chased 
off"  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  by  the  Ala- 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE  PATAGONIANS. 


151 


bama,  and  but  for  the  pluck  of  the  cap-  I  powers  of  the  craft,  another  item  would 
tain  and  crew,  and  the  wonderful  sailing  I  have  been  added  to  Mr.  Adams'  "little 


bill."     As   it  was,  the  beautiful   vessel  I  steadiness  of  the  crew,  and  their  well- 
fairly  outsailed  the  swift  steamer.     The  I  deserved  attachment  to  the  captain,  were 


152 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


most  strongly  proved  on  this  occasion. 
As  there  was  no  alternative  between  put- 
ting in  for  water  at  St.  Helena — where 
it  was  too  probable  the  Alabama  would 
pounce  upon  the  prize — and  running 
home  upon  half  a  pint  per  diem  each 
man,  the  captain  left  it  to  the  crew  to 
decide,  and  they  chose  the  latter  course. 

Mr.  Clarke  had  spent  three  months 
traveling  and  hunting  in  company  with 
the  Tehuelchcs,  which  had  made  him  a 
most  expert  hand  with  lasso  or  bolas, 
and  well  acquainted  with  the  Indian 
character ;  and  it  was  pleasant  to  hear 
that  he  entertained  a  very  high  opinion 
of  their  intelligence  and  generous  dis- 
position. He  treated  them  with  fairness 
and  considerate  kindness,  and  they  re- 
paid him  by  confidence  and  friendship. 

Five  other  employes  made  up  the  rest 
of  our  party.  No  social  distinctions, 
however,  prevailed,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Pabon  lived  in  pleasant  equality. 
The  charge  of  the  dogs  and  horses  and 
the  duty  of  supplying  meat  devolved  on 
two  —  Gonzalez,  a  gaucho,  a  native  of 
Patagones,  who  was  as  much  at  home 
in  the  schooner  on  a  sealing-excursion 
as  in  the  saddle  balling  an  ostrich  ;  and 
Juan  Isidore,  a  swarthy  little  man  whose 
sparkling  black  eyes  told  of  his  Indian 
blood,  a  native  of  Santiago  del  Estero : 
he  had  been  sent  as  a  soldier  to  Rio 
Negro,  whence  he  had  managed  to  de- 
sert, and  make  his  way  with  Orkeke's 
Indians  to  the  settlement.  Next  comes 
Juan  Chileno,  a  bright,  fresh-complex- 
ioned  youth  of  nineteen  years,  to  look 
at  whom  was  refreshing  after  the  swarthy 
and  weather-beaten  physiognomies  of 
the  others.  Then  Antonio,  a  Portuguese, 
by  turns  gaucho,  whaler  or  sealer,  al- 
ways ready  with  a  song  or  a  merry  jest, 
and  on  occasion  equally  quick  with  his 
knife.  Holstein  furnished  the  last,  but 
by  no  means  least  important — a  strong- 
built,  good-natured,  rather  stupid  fellow, 
generally  selected  as  the  butt  of  the  rest, 
who  always  styled  him  "El  Cooke,"  a 
sobriquet  earned  by  his  many  voyages 
in  that  capacity  on  board  various  ships. 
Such  were  the  companions  of  my  resi- 
dence at  Pabon,  besides  whom  more 
than  a  score  of  dogs  of  all  sorts  slept 


anyhow  and  anywhere,  and  followed 
anybody,  giving  their  masters  the  pref- 
erence. 

Every  Sunday  all  hands,  except  one 
— the  cook  of  the  week — left  on  guard, 
went  hunting,  and,  as  occasion  required, 
during  the  week,  the  gauchos  would  pro- 
ceed to  supply  the  larder  with  guanaco 
or  ostrich,  the  latter  being,  however,  rare. 
Idleness  was  unknown  :  when  not  hunt- 
ing, woodcutting  or  salt-raising,  manu- 
factures were  the  order  of  the  day.  We 
picked  stones  and  worked  them  round 
for  bolas,  and  covered  them  with  the 
hide  stripped  from  the  hock  of  the  gua- 
naco, the  soga  or  thong  connecting  the 
balls  being  made  from  the  skin  of  the 
neck,  the  method  of  obtaining  it  being 
as  follows :  The  head  having  been  cut 
off,  and  an  incision  made  just  above  the 
shoulder,  the  skin  is  dragged  off  in  one 
piece,  and,  after  the  wool  has  been  pick- 
ed off,  is  softened  by  hand  and  carefully 
cut  into  strips,  which  are  closely  plaited. 
Of  this  leather  we  also  made  serviceable 
bridles,  lassos,  stirrup-leathers,  and,  in 
fact,  horse-gear  generally.  Sometimes 
we  ^v"ould  have  a  fit  of  making  pipes, 
and  all  hands  would  be  busy  sawing  out 
wood  or  hard  at  work  boring  the  bowls  ; 
at  others,  spurs  were  the  rage,  made  by 
the  simple  Indian  method  of  sticking 
sharpened  nails  into  two  pieces  of  wood, 
secured  together  by  thongs  fastened  un- 
der the  foot  and  round  the  leg ;  or  again, 
we  would  work  silver,  and  come  out  with 
our  knife-sheaths  glittering  with  studs. 
On  non-hunting  days  I  invariably  prac- 
ticed the  use  of  the  bolas,  and  caught 
almost  every  shrub  on  the  island. 

The  evenings  were  passed  in  play- 
ing the  American  game  of  "brag." 
Cash  being  unknown,  and  no  one  being 
disposed  to  risk  the  loss  of  his  gear,  the 
stakes  were  simply  so  many  black  beans 
to  a  box  of  matches  ;  and  as  much  ex- 
citement prevailed  as  if  each  bean  or 
perota  had  been  a  five-dollar  piece. 

The  sketch  of  our  life  at  Pabon  would 
be  very  incomplete  without  asking  the 
reader  to  accompany  us  on  a  hunting- 
excursion.  Game  had  become  very 
scarce  in  our  immediate  vicinity,  and 
our   onlv   farinaceous   food   was    black 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE  PATAGONIANS. 


^OJ 


beans  varied  by  maize,  which  was  too      much  used.     The  meat  went  wonderful- 
troublesome   in    the   preparation    to   be      ly  quick,  so  we  determined  to  extend  the 


sphereof  the  hunting  a  liulc  more  aticld.   ^   daylight   the   horses   were   brought  up, 
Accordingly,  one  tine  frosty  morning  at  ^  caught  and  saddled,  mantles  and  spurs 


^54 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


donned,  and  eight  of  us,  including  two 
Indians,  Casimiro  and  El  Zurdo,  set  off 
to  make  a  circle — i.  e.,  enclose  and  drive 
an  area  of  land  on  the  southern  shore 
of  the  river,  finishing  at  the  Missionaries' 
Valley.  Casimiro  and  Gonzalez  accord- 
ingly started,  and  the  remainder  follow- 
ed in  turn.  During  our  drive  down,  one 
guanaco  was  captured  by  El  Zurdo  and 
Isidoro,  and  on  our  arrival  near  the  val- 
ley of  Los  Misionarios  I  chased  a  gua- 
naco, but,  being  without  dogs  and  a  tyro 
with  the  bolas,  failed  to  capture  him. 
However,  on  rejoining  my  companions, 
who  had  now  finished  the  circle,  I  found 
that  they  had  only  killed  one  ostrich, 
which,  through  the  carelessness  of  some 
of  the  party,  the  dogs  had  mauled  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  greater 
part  of  the  meat  unserviceable.  The 
day  had  been  unusually  warm,  without 
any  wind.  Though  a  bank  of  white 
clouds  on  the  horizon  seemed  to  threaten 
snow,  it  was  agreed  to  camp  out  and  try 
our  chance  of  getting  a  good  supply  of 
meat  on  the  following  day ;  so  we  pro- 
ceeded to  a  sheltered  place  in  the  valley 
and  bivouacked  under  the  lee  of  a  big 
incense  bush,  while  the  horses  were  turn- 
ed loose  and  a  fire  was  made,  on  which 
the  remains  of  the  ostrich  were  soon 
cooking  under  the  master  hand  of  Casi- 
miro. After  supper,  which  was  rather 
stinted  in  quantity,  we  smoked  a  pipe, 
and  lay  down  to  sleep.  About  three  I 
woke  up,  feeling,  as  I  thought,  a  heavy 
weight  pressing  on  my  mantle,  and  found 
that  above  two  inches  of  snow  had  fallen 
and  that  it  was  still  snowing.  At  day- 
light it  came  on  to  rain,  but  quickly 
changed  to  snow  again ;  so  we  made 
a  fire  and  waited  for  an  hour  to  see  if 
the  weather  would  clear.  At  last,  on  a 
gleam  of  sickly  sunshine  appearing,  we 
proceeded  to  arrange  the  circle,  Casimi- 
ro starting  first.  Emerging  from  the  val- 
ley and  ascending  to  the  high  pampa, 
we  met  a  terrific  gale  of  wind  from  the 
south,  driving  before  it  small  snow  in 
freezing  blasts  ;  but  two  ostriches  jump- 
ed up  from  behind  a  bush,  and  Mr. 
Clarke  balled  one  of  them  with  great 
dexterity.  This  was  very  cheering,  as 
we  were  all  very  hungry.     But,  as  it  was 


impossible  to  face  the  driving  sleet  and 
wind,  which  prevented  us  from  seeing 
ten  yards  before  us,  we  adjourned  to  the 
valley,  leaving  Casimiro,  who  was  not 
visible,  to  his  own  pursuits.  Suddenly, 
El  Zurdo  discovered  smoke  behind  a 
clump  of  trees,  and,  to  our  great  delight, 
there  was  our  friend  before  a  good  fire, 
nicely  sheltered  from  snow  and  wind, 
within  an  arbor  neatly  cut  out  of  a 
bush.  We  adjourned  to  the  fire  and 
had  breakfast ;  invigorated  by  which, 
and  encouraged  by  a  lull  in  the  storm, 
we  started  off  to  renew  the  chase,  but 
sooi>  got  separated  by  the  thick  snow- 
storm. Mr.  Clarke,  El  Zurdo,  Gonzalez 
and  myself,  who  were  together,  came 
close  upon  a  herd  of  guanaco  making 
for  the  coast  to  escape  the  gale.  The 
dogs  gave  chase  and  killed  some,  others 
were  balled  :  in  fact,  a  regular  slaughter 
took  place,  and  eight  or  ten  carcases 
were  soon  lying  on  the  plain.  Now 
came  the  tedious  job  of  cutting  up.  I 
found  myself  standing  alone  by  a  dead 
guanaco,  none  of  the  others  being  visi- 
ble, though  not  fifty  yards  distant.  I 
proceeded  as  best  I  could  to  arrange  the 
meat,  and  was  about  half  through  the 
task,  with  fingers  nearly  frozen,  when 
I  discovered  ISIr.  Clarke  and  El  Zurdo, 
and  shortly  after  it  cleared  up,  and  the 
remainder  of  our  party,  all  loaded  with 
meat,  arrived.  Thus  supplied,  we  turn- 
ed our  faces  homeward,  and  a  little  be- 
fore sundown  reached  Santa  Cruz,  where 
a  steaming  kettle  of  coffee  soon  dispelled 
our  cold  and  put  us  into  good  spirits. 

The  northern  hills  abounded  with 
puma,  some  of  which,  killed  in  our 
hunts,  were  of  unusual  size,  measuring 
fully  six  feet,  exclusive  of  the  tail,  which 
is  generally  half  the  length  of  the  body. 
They  are,  of  course,  most  numerous 
where  the  herds  of  guanaco  and  the 
ostriches  abound :  in  the  southern  part 
of  Patagonia  their  color  is  more  of  a 
grayish-brown  than  that  of  the  species 
found  in  the  Argentine  provinces.  These 
"leones,"  as  they  are  universally  called 
in  South  America,  always  appeared  to 
me  to  be  the  most  catlike  of  all  the 
felidae.  They  are  very  timid,  always 
running  from  a  man  on  horseback,  and, 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE  PATAGOXIANS. 


o.-) 


by  day  at  least,  from  a  pedestrian  :  they 
run  for  a  short  distance  in  a  series  of 
long  bounds  at  great  speed,  but  soon 
tire,  and  stand  at  bay  behind  or  in  the 
midst  of  a  bush,  and,  sitting  upon  their 
haunches,  spit  and  swear  just  like  a 
monstrous  tabby,  sometimes  endeavor- 
ing to  scratch  with  their  formidable 
claws,  but  rarely  springing  at  the  pur- 
suer. Mr.  Clarke  on  one  occasion  had 
his  mantle  torn  off  in  this  manner.  At 
another  time,  w^hen  hunting  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Santa  Cruz,  I  observed  from  a  dis- 
tance Gonzalez  hacking  with  his  knife  at 
a  big  incense  bush,  and  on  reaching  the 
spot  found  him  occupied  in  clearing 
away  branches  to  allow  him  to  knock  a 
huge  puma  on  the  head  with  his  bolas. 
He  was  dismounted  and  attended  by  his 
dogs,  which  bayed  the  animal.  Still, 
had  the  puma  not  been  a  cur,  he  could 
doubtless  have  sprung  out  and  killed  or 
severely  wounded  the  gaucho.  The  In- 
dians affirm  that  the  puma  will  attack  a 
single  man  alone  and  on  foot ;  and  in- 
deed subsequently  an  example  of  this 
came  under  my  notice :  however,  if  a 
person  should  be  benighted  or  lost,  he 
has  only  to  take  the  precaution  of  light- 
ing a  fire,  which  these  animals  will  never 
approach.  They  are  most  savage  in  the 
early  part  of  the  spring  or  breeding-sea- 
son, when,  according  to  my  experience, 
they  are  found  roaming  over  the  country 
in  an  unsettled  manner :  they  are  then 
also  thinner  than  at  other  times,  but,  like 
the  wild  horse,  they  are  generally  pretty 
fat  at  all  times  of  the  year.  The  females 
I  saw  were  sometimes  accompanied  by 
two  cubs,  but  never  more.  The  meat 
of  the  puma  resembles  pork,  and  is  good 
eating,  though  better  boiled  than  roasted, 
but  one  or  two  Indians  of  my  acquaint- 
ance would  not  touch  the  meat.  The 
hide  is  useful  either  for  saddle-cloths  or 
to  make  mantles  of;  and  owing  to  its 
greasy  nature  it  can  be  softened  with  less 
trouble  than  that  of  the  guanaco.  In 
Santa  Cruz  one  of  the  men  had  a  pair 
of  trousers  made  of  lion's  skin,  which, 
worn  with  the  hair  side  out,  was  imper- 
vious to  wet.  From  the  hock  and  lower 
part  of  the  hind  legs  boots  may  be 
constructed  similar  to  those  made  from 


horse  hide,  and  are  in  common  use 
amongst  the  Indians  and  also  the  gau- 
chos  of  Plata.  These,  however,  are 
only  made  from  pumas  of  large  size, 
and  they  wear  out  very  quickly.  To 
kill  a  puma  with  a  gun  is  rather  a  diffi- 
cult matter,  as,  unless  the  ball  enters  his 
skull  or  strikes  near  the  region  of  the 
heart,  he  has  as  many  lives  as  his  relation 
the  cat.  I  once  put  three  revolver  bul- 
lets into  one,  and  ultimately  had  recourse 
to  the  bolas  as  a  more  effective  weapon. 
When  wounded  they  become  very  sav- 
age, but  they  are  at  all  times  bad  cus- 
tomers for  dogs,  which  they  maul  in  a 
shocking  manner.  The  Indian  dogs  are 
trained  to  stand  off  and  bay  them,  keep- 
ing out  of  range  of  the  claws  ;  neverthe- 
less, they  not  unfrequently  get  killed. 
Perhaps  the  simplest  way  of  taking  the 
pumas  is  to  throw  a  lasso  over  them,  as 
directly  they  feel  the  noose  they  lie  down 
as  if  dead,  and  are  easily  despatched.  I 
was  particularly  struck,  as  are  all  hunt- 
ers, with  their  eyes — large,  brown  and 
beautifully  bright,  but  with  a  fierce  glare 
that  does  not  appeal  to  any  feelings  of 
compassion.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
expression  in  the  eyes  of  one  puma,  best 
described  by  the  remark  made  by  one 
of  the  Indians  as  he  reined  back  his 
horse,  expecting  a  spring :  "  Mira  los 
ojos  del  diablo  !"  {"  Look,  what  devil's 
eyes !") 

By  this  time  even  the  kind  compan- 
ionship of  Mr.  Clarke  failed  to  reconcile 
me  to  the  tedious  monotony  of  our  life. 
The  game  also  became  scarcer  and 
scarcer,  and  at  the  beginning  of  August 
I  began  to  think  it  would  be  better  and 
more  amusing  to  migrate  to  the  Indian 
camp,  where,  at  any  rate,  plenty  of  meat 
was  procurable.  Accordingly,  Avhen  the 
Indians  came  over  again  on  a  visit,  I 
bought  a  horse,  or  rather  changed  away 
a  revolver  for  one  (a  three-year  old,' 
newly-broken),  and  started  in  company 
with  Orkeke,  Campan,  Cayuke  and 
Tankelow,  four  Indians,  all  of  whom 
were  previous  acquaintances.  I  was 
ushered  into  Orkeke's  toldo  with  due 
ceremony,  and  we  took  our  seats  by  the 
fire.  I  had  brought  a  bag  of  coffee  with 
me ;    so  we   set  to   work   and  roasted 


^5^ 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


some,  after  which  one  of  the  Chilians 
was  given  the  task  of  pounding  it  be- 
tween stones,  and  we  all  drank  what  the 
Indians  not  inappropriately  term  "pot- 
water."  Many  Indians  crowded  in  to 
have  a  look  at  us,  and  among  others 
that  I  noticed  was  a  remarkably  pretty 
little  girl  of  about  thirteen  years  of  age, 
a  niece  of  Orkeke's,  who  took  some 
coffee,  when  oftered,  in  a  shy  and  bash- 
ful manner  which  was  delightful  to  con- 
template. In  due  time  we  all  retired  to 
rest,  and  a  little  before  daylight  I  was 
woke  up  by  the  melodious  singing  of  an 
Indian  in  the  next  toldo.  Shortly  after- 
ward, Orkeke  went  out  and  harangued 
the  inmates  of  the  remaining  toldos,  and 
presently  the  horses  were  brought  up, 
and  most  of  the  men  started  for  the 
chase.  Snow  had  fallen  during  the 
night,  a  biting  cold  wind  was  blowing, 
and  Orkeke  told  me  there  were  very  few 
animals  about.  I  took  this  as  a  hint  not 
to  ask  for  a  horse,  so  contented  myself 
with  sauntering  round  and  examining 
the  encampment.  Some  of  the  men 
were  playing  cards,  one  or  two  sleeping, 
whilst  the  women  were  almost  univer- 
sally employed  in  sewing  guanaco  man- 
tles. About  3  p.  -M.,  Casimiro  arrived 
with  his  family,  and  proceeded  to  the 
tent  of  a  southern  Indian,  named  Crime, 
and  shortly  afterward  the  hunting-party 
returned  by  twos  and  threes,  but  the 
chase  had  not  been  attended  with  much 
success.  We  passed  the  evening  pleas- 
antly enough,  making  acquaintance  with 
each  other,  and  Keoken,  the  little  girl, 
instructed  me  in  the  Indian  names  of 
the  various  objects  about  the  place. 

The  most  important  among  the  In- 
dians were  Orkeke,  the  actual  cacique, 
and  his  brother  Tankelow,  who  possess- 
ed the  greater  number  of  horses  ;  Casi- 
miro, whose  leadership  was  still  rather 
in  posse ;  Camillo,  Crime,  Cuastro,  Ca- 
'  yuke,  etc.  One  more  must  be  mention- 
ed by  name — Waki,  a  perfect  Hercules 
in  bodily  frame,  and  a  thoroughly  good- 
natured  fellow,  with  whom  I  became 
great  friends.  The  whole  were  housed 
in  five  toldos — by  which  Spanish  name 
the  Indian  kau  or  tents,  strongly  resem- 
bling   those  of    our   own    gypsies,    are 


known.  They  were  pitched  in  a  shel- 
tered hollow,  with  their  fronts  facing  the 
east,  to  avoid  the  bitter  violence  of  the 
prevalent  westerly  winds. 

Fitzroy  has  given  an  excellent  de- 
scription of  the  toldo,  but  to  those  read- 
ers who  are  unacquainted  with  it  a  brief 
sketch  will  not  be  unacceptable.  A  row 
of  forked  posts  about  three  feet  high  is 
driven  into  the  ground  in  a  slightly 
slanting  position,  and  a  ridge-pole  laid 
across  them ;  in  front  of  these,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  seven  feet,  a  second  row, 
six  feet  high,  with  a  ridge-pole ;  and  at 
the  same  distance  from  them  a  third 
row,  eight  feet  high,  each  slanting  a  lit- 
tle, but  not  at  the  same  angle.  A  cov- 
ering made  of  from  forty  to  iifty  full- 
grown  guanaco  skins,  smeared  with  a 
mixture  of  grease  and  red  ochre,  is 
drawn  over  from  the  rear,  and  the  great 
drag  of  the  heavy  covering  straightens 
the  poles :  it  is  then  secured  by  thongs 
to  the  front  poles,  while  hide  curtains 
fastened  between  the  inner  poles  parti- 
tion off  the  sleeping-places,  and  the  bag- 
gage piled  round  the  sides  of  the  tent 
excludes  the  cold  blast  which  penetrates 
under  the  edge  of  the  covering.  The 
fire  is  kindled  in  the  fore  part  or  mouth 
of  the  tent.  In  very  bad  weather,  or 
when  encamped  for  the  winter,  an  ad- 
ditional covering  is  secured  to  the  front 
poles  and  brought  down  over  an  extra 
row  of  short  posts,  making  all  snug.  It 
is  a  common  arrangement  for  relatives 
or  friends  to  combine  their  toldos,  when, 
instead  of  bringing  down  the  coverings 
to  the  ground  at  the  side,  they  are  made 
to  overlap,  and  thus  one  tent  roof  will 
cover  two  or  three  distinct  domestic 
interiors. 

The  furniture  of  the  toldos  consists  of 
one  or  two  bolsters  and  a  horse  hide  or 
two  to  each  sleeping  compartment,  one 
to  act  as  a  curtain  and  the  other  for  bed- 
ding. The  bolsters  are  made  of  old 
ponchos  or  lechus,  otherwise  called  man- 
dils — woven  blankets  obtained  from  the 
Araucanos,  who  are  famous  for  their 
manufacture — stuffed  with  guanaco  wool 
and  sewn  up  with  ostrich  or  guanaco 
sinews.  The  bolsters  do  duty  as  pillows 
or  as  seats,  and  help  to  form  the  women's 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE   PATAGONIANS. 


157 


saddles  on  the  march.  Besides  these, 
the  women  all  own  mandils  for  their 
beds.  The  men  occasionally  use  the 
cloths  worn  under  the  saddles  for  seats 
when  the  ground  is  damp,  but  as  a  rule 
all  the  inmates  of  the  toldo  squat  upon 
Nature's  carpet,  which  has  the  advan- 
tage of  being  easily  cleaned,  for  the  Te- 
huelches  are  very  particular  about  the 
cleanliness  of  the  interior  of  their  dwell- 
ings, and  a  patch  of  sod  accidentally 
befouled  is  at  once  cut  out  and  thrown 
outside  by  the  women. 

The  cooking-utensils  are  simple,  con- 
sisting of  an  asador,  or  iron  spit,  for 
roasting  meat,  and  an  occasional  iron 
pot,  which  serves  for  boiling  and  also  for 
trying-out  ostrich  grease  and  marrow, 
which  is  employed  both  for  cooking  and 
for  mixing  with  the  paint  with  which  the 
faces  of  both  sexes  are  adorned.  To 
these,  wooden  platters  and  armadillo 
shells,  to  serve  broth  in,  are  sometimes 
added.  The  duty  of  pitching  and  ar- 
ranging the  toldos  on  the  halt  and  strik- 
ing them  for  the  march,  as  well  as  load- 
ing the  poles,  covering  and  furniture  on 
the  horses,  devolves  entirely  upon  the 
women,  who  display  great  strength  and 
dexterity  in  the  work. 

The  order  of  march  and  method  of 
hunting  which  constitute  the  daily  rou- 
tine are  as  follows :  The  cacique,  who 
has  the  ordering  of  the  marching  and 
hunting,  comes  out  of  his  toldo  at  day- 
light, sometimes  indeed  before,  and  de- 
livers a  loud  oration,  describing  the  order 
of  march,  the  appointed  place  of  hunt- 
ing and  the  general  programme  :  he  then 
exhorts  the  young  men  to  catch  and 
bring  up  the  horses  and  be  alert  and 
active  in  the  hunt,  enforcing  his  admo- 
nition, by  way  of  a  wind-up,  with  a 
boastful  relation  of  his  own  deeds  of 
prowess  when  he  was  young.  Some- 
times the  women  while  the  chief  is  ha- 
ranguing rekindle  or  blow  up  the  embers 
of  the  fire  and  prepare  a  slight  breakfast, 
but  not  invariably.  Some  cold  meat  is 
also  occasionally  reserved  from  the  even- 
ing meal,  and  placed  in  a  hide  bag  to  be 
carried  with  them  on  the  march,  to  be 
given  to  the  children  when  they  are 
hungry.     But  the  general  custom  for  the 


men  is  to  wait  until  the  day's  hunt  has 
supplied  fresh  meat.  When  the  cacique's 
"oration  " — which  is  very  little  attended 
to — is  over,  the  young  men  and  boys 
lasso  and  bring  up  the  horses,  and  the 
women  place  on  their  backs  the  bolsters 
of  reeds,  tied  with  hide  thongs,  mantles 
and  colored  blankets,  which  form  their 
saddles  ;  others  are  strapping  their  belts 
on,  or  putting  their  babies  into  wicker- 
work  cradles,  or  rolling  up  the  skins  that 
form  the  coverings  of  the  toldos,  and 
placing  them  and  the  poles  on  the  bag- 
gage-horses ;  last  of  all,  the  small  break- 
ers which  are  carried  on  the  march  are 
filled  with  water.  The  women  mount 
by  means  of  a  sling  round  the  horses' 
necks,  and  sit  astride  of  their  bolster- 
saddles  ;  their  babies — if  they  possess 
any — and  their  pet  dogs  are  hoisted  up, 
the  babies  being  stowed  in  the  cradles 
behind  them  :  then  they  take  their  bag- 
gage-horses in  tow  and  start  off  in  single 
file.  The  men,  who  generally  wait  until 
all  are  ready,  then  drive  the  spare  horses 
for  a  short  distance,  and  having  handed 
them  over  to  the  charge  of  their  wives 
or  daughters,  retire  to  a  neighboring 
bush,  where  a  fire  is  kindled,  pipes  are 
lighted,  and  the  hunt  commenced  in  the 
following  manner :  Two  men  start  off 
and  ride  at  a  gallop  round  a  certain  area 
of  country,  varying  according  to  the 
number  of  the  party,  lighting  fires  at 
intervals  to  mark  their  track.  After  the 
lapse  of  a  few  minutes  two  others  are 
despatched,  and  so  on  until  only  a  few 
are  left  with  the  cacique.  These  spread 
themselves  out  in  a  crescent,  closing  in 
and  narrowing  the  circle  on  a  point 
where  those  first  started  have  by  this 
time  arrived.  The  crescent  rests  on  a 
base-line  formed  by  the  slowly-proceed- 
ing line  of  women,  children  and  bag- 
gage-horses. The  ostriches  and  herds 
of  guanaco  run  from  the  advancing 
party,  but  are  checked  by  the  points- 
men, and  when  the  circle  is  well  closed 
in  are  attacked  with  the  bolas,  two  men 
frequently  chasing  the  same  animal  from 
different  sides.  The  dogs  also  assist  in 
the  chase,  but  the  Indians  are  so  quick 
and  expert  with  the  bolas  that  unless 
their  horses  are  tired,  or  they  happen  to 


158 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE  PATAGONIANS. 


have  gambled  away  their  bolas,  the  dogs  I  very  frequently  found  in  the  circles,  and 
are  not  much  called  into  use.     Puma  are  |  quickly  despatched  by  a  blow  on  the 


head  from  a  ball.     On  one  occasion  I 
saw  Waki  completely  crush,  by  a  single 


blow,   the  skull  of  an  unusually  large 
one.     The  Indian  law  of  division  of  the 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE  PATAGONIANS. 


159 


game  prevents  all  disputes,  and  is  as 
follows  :  The  man  who  balls  the  ostrich 
leaves  it  for  the  other  who  has  been 
chasing  with  him  to  carry  or  take  charge 
of,  and  at  the  end  of  the  hunt  it  is  di- 
vided— the  feathers  and  body  from  the 
head  to  the  breast-bone  and  one  leg  be- 
longing to  the  captor,  the  remainder  to 
the  assistant.  In  the  case  of  guanaco, 
the  first  takes  the  best  half  in  the  same 
manner  :  the  lungs,  heart,  liver,  kidneys 
and  the  fat  and  marrow  bones  are  some- 
times eaten  raw.  The  Tehuelches  also 
cut  out  the  fat  over  the  eyes,  and  the 
gristly  fat  between  the  thigh-joints,  which 
they  eat  with  great  gusto,  as  also  the 
heart  and  blood  of  the  ostrich.  Owing 
to  the  entire  absence  of  farinaceous  food, 
fat  becomes  a  necessary  article  of  diet, 
and  can  be  consumed  in  much  larger 
quantities  than  in  more  civilized  coun- 
tries. That  this  is  not  merely  owing  to  the 
inclemency  of  the  climate  is  proved  by 
the  appetite  for  fat  which  the  gauchos  in 
the  Argentine  provinces  acquire.  When 
the  hunt  is  finished  and  the  birds  cut  up 
and  divided,  fires  are  kindled,  and  whilst 
stones  are  heating  the  ostrich  is  plucked, 
the  wing-feathers  being  carefully  tied  to- 
gether with  a  piece  of  sinew.  The  bird 
is  then  laid  on  its  back  and  drawn  ;  the 
legs  are  carefully  skinned  down,  and  the 
bone  taken  out,  leaving  the  skin ;  the 
carcase  is  then  separated  into  two  halves, 
and  the  back-bone  having  been  extract- 
ed from  the  lower  half,  and  the  meat 
sliced  so  as  to  admit  the  heated  stones 
laid  in  between  the  sections,  it  is  tied  up 
like  a  bag,  secured  by  the  skin  of  the 
legs,  with  a  small  bone  thrust  through 
to  keep  all  taut :  this  is  placed  on  the 
live  embers  of  the  fire,  a  light  blaze  being 
kindled  when  it  is  nearly  done  to  per- 
fectly roast  the  outside  meat.  During 
the  process  of  cooking  it  has  to  be  turn- 
ed frequently  to  ensure  all  parts  being 


thoroughly  cooked.  When  ready  it  is 
taken  off  the  fire,  and  the  top  part  being 
cut  off  and  the  stones  extracted,  the 
broth  and  meat  are  found  deliciously 
cooked.  The  party,  generally  consist- 
ing of  twos  or  fours,  sit  round  the  dish 
and  eat  the  meat,  sopping  it  in  the  broth. 
The  back  part,  which  consists  nearly 
altogether  of  fat  (when  the  ostrich  is  in 
good  condition),  is  then  divided,  pieces 
being  given  to  each  and  reserved  as  tid- 
bits for  the  women  and  children.  When 
the  head  and  breast  half  are  to  be  cook- 
ed, the  bone  is  not  extracted,  but  the 
wings  turned  inside  and  the  breast  cav- 
ity filled  with  heated  stones,  and  tied  up 
with  half  of  the  skin  of  the  legs,  which 
have  been  divided,  additional  pieces  of 
meat  from  the  legs  having  been  placed 
in  the  breast  cavity.  The  fat  of  the 
breast  is  divided  amongst  the  party  at 
the  fireside,  the  owner  in  all  cases  re- 
serving none  or  a  very  small  piece  for 
himself,  as  the  others  who  are  cooking 
at  the  same  fire  are  sure  to  give  him 
plenty.  The  cacique  generally  receives 
the  largest  share,  or,  if  he  is  not  present, 
the  greatest  friends  of  the  owner.  The 
wing-feathers  are  carefully  taken  to  the 
toldos  and  stored  with  others  for  future 
trade.  The  ostrich  is  most  thoroughly 
eaten,  the  gizzard,  which  is  large  enough 
to  fill  both  hands,  being  carefully  cook- 
ed by  the  insertion  of  a  hot  stone  and 
roasted :  the  eyes,  too,  are  sucked,  and 
the  tripe  devoured  ;  but  when  the  birds 
are  thin  they  are  simply  skinned,  and 
the  carcase  left  to  the  pumas.  After  the 
meal  concluding  the  hunt  is  finished,  a 
pipe  is  handed  round,  saddles  are  re- 
adjusted and  the  game  placed  on  them, 
and  the  party  adjourn  to  the  toldos, 
which  by  this  time  have  been  pitched 
and  arranged  by  the  women. 

(end  of  part  first.) 


i6o 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   TATA G ONI ANS. 


AT   HOME  WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 

BY   GEORGE    CHAWORTH   MUSTERS. 
II. 


THE  hills  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  Chico  are  bare 
and  rugged,  rising  abruptly  out  of  irreg- 
ular forms,  while  the  southern  heights 
are  lower,  and  present  more  of  the  steep 
declivities  known  as  barrancas,  inter- 
rupted at  intervals  by  high,  rugged  hills 
of  basalt,  often  assuming  the  appearance 
of  ruined  castles,  closing  in  at  the  bends 
of  the  winding  river.  To  one  of  these — 
a  remarkable  hill  under  which  we  were 
encamped  on  August  23,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  from  Santa  Cruz — 
I  gave  the  name  of  Sierra  Ventana,  from 
a  window-like  opening  through  its  peak  : 
the  Indians  called  it  Mowaish.  In  many 
places  the  bases  of  these  hills  are  form- 
ed entirely  of  a  description  of  lava ;  and 
one  of  the  Chilians  informed  me  that 
whilst  passing  over  a  ridge  he  had  ob- 
served several  large  masses  of  pure  iron : 
this,  however,  I  was  inclined  to  disbe- 
lieve, as,  although  farther  up  the  coun- 
try iron-ore  exists  in  large  quantities,  I 
only  observed  in  this  part  a  species  of 
ore  similar  to  that  common  at  Drobak 
in  Norway. 

During  the  expedition  up  the  Rio  Chico 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
ceremonies  with  which  the  attainment 
of  the  age  of  puberty  of  one  of  the  girls 
was  celebrated  according  to  custom. 
Early  in  the  morning  the  father  of  the 
child  informed  the  cacique  of  the  event : 
the  cacique  thereupon  officially  commu- 
nicated the  intelligence  to  the  acting 
doctor  or  medicine-man,  and  a  consider- 
able shouting  was  set  up,  while  the  doc- 
tor adorned  himself  with  white  paint  and 
was  bled  in  the  forehead  and  arms  with 
a  sharp  bodkin.  The  women  immedi- 
ately set  to  work  to  sew  a  number  of 
mandils  together.  When  the  patchwork 
was  finished,  it  was  taken  with  pomp 
and  ceremony  by  a  band  of  young  men, 
who  marched  round  the  poles — already 


fixed  to  form  a  temporary  toldo — sing- 
ing, whilst  the  women  joined  in  with  the 
most  dismal  incantations  and  bowlings. 
After  marching  round  several  times,  the 
covering  was  drawn  over  the  poles,  and 
lances  were  stuck  in  front  adorned  with 
bells,  streamers  and  brass  plates  that 
shook  and  rattled  in  the  breeze,  the 
whole  thing  when  erected  presenting  a 
very  gay  appearance  (its  Indian  name 
literally  meaning  "The  pretty  house  "). 
The  girl  was  then  placed  in  an  inner 
part  of  the  tent,  where  nobody  was  ad- 
mitted. After  this  everybody  mounted, 
and  some  were  selected  to  bring  up  the 
horses,  out  of  which  certain  mares  and 
fillies  were  chosen  and  brought  up  in 
front  of  the  showy  toldo,  where  they 
were  knocked  on  the  head  by  a  ball, 
thus  saving  the  blood  (which  was  se- 
cured in  pots)  to  be  cooked,  being  con- 
sidered a  great  delicacy.  It  is  a  rule 
amongst  the  Indians  that  any  one  assist- 
ing to  take  off  the  hide  of  a  slaughtered 
mare  is  entitled  to  a  piece  of  meat,  but 
the  flesh  was  on  this  occasion  distributed 
pretty  equally  all  round.  Whilst  the 
meat  was  cooking,  Casimiro,  who  was 
ruler  of  the  feast,  sent  a  message  for  me 
to  come  to  Crime's  toldo,  where  I  found 
him  busy  working  at  a  saddle,  in  the 
construction  of  which  he  was,  by  the 
way,  an  adept.  His  wife  had  a  large 
iron  pot  bubbling  on  the  fire,  containing 
some  of  the  blood  mixed  with  grease. 
When  the  mess  was  nearly  cooked,  we 
added  a  little  pepper  and  salt  and  com- 
menced the  feast.  Previous  to  this  I 
had  felt  a  sort  of  repugnance  to  eating 
horse,  as  perhaps  most  Englishmen — 
except,  indeed,  the  professed  hippoph- 
agists — have  ;  but  hunger  overcame  all 
scruples,  and  I  soon  acquired  quite  a 
taste  for  this  meat.  Casimiro  informed 
me,  after  the  meal  was  concluded,  that 
there  v/ould  be  a  dance  in  the  evening. 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIA  ATS. 


i6i 


I  looked  forward  with  great  anticipation 
to  this  "small  and  early,'"  and  shortly 


saw  some  of  the  women  proceed  to  col- 
lect a  considerable  quantity  of  firewood, 


which  was  placed  outside  the  tent.    Pres-  |  outside  the  sacred  precincts.     The  wo- 
ently,  toward  dusk,  a  fire  was  made,  first      men   all  sat  down  on  the  grass  round 
II 


l62 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE  PATAGONIANS. 


about,  but  at  some  distance  from  the  I  except  four  and  the  musicians.     The  or- 
men,  who  were  all  seated  on  the  c^rass,  '  chestra  consisted  of  a  drum  made  by 


stretching  a  piece  of  hide  over  a  bowl, 
also  a  sort  of  wind  instrument  formed 


of  the  thigh-bone  of  a  guanaco,  with 
holes  bored  in  it.  which  is  placed  to  the 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE   PATAGONIAiVS. 


i6' 


mouth  and  played,  or  with  a  short  bow- 
having  a  horsehair  string.  When  all 
was  ready,  some  of  the  old  hags  all  the 
time  singing  in  their  melodious  way,  the 
band  struck  up,  and  four  Indians,  muf- 
fled up  in  blankets  so  that  their  eyes 
only  were  visible,  and  their  heads  adorn- 
ed with  ostrich  plumes,  marched  into 
the  ring  and  commenced  pacing  slowly 
round  the  fire,  keeping  time  to  the 
music.  After  two  or  three  promenades 
the  time  gradually  quickened  until  they 
went  at  a  sort  of  trot ;  and  about  the 
fifth  round,  dancing  fast  to  the  music, 
they  threw  away  their  mantles,  and  ex- 
hibited themselves  adorned  with  white 
paint  daubed  all  over  their  bodies,  and 
each  having  a  girdle  of  bells  extending 
from  the  shoulder  to  the  hip,  which 
jingled  in  tune  to  their  steps.  The  first 
four  consisted  of  the  chiefs  Casimiro, 
Orkeke,  Crime  and  Camillo,  who,  after 
dancing  with  great  action  (just  avoiding 
stepping  into  the  fire),  and  bowing  their 
plumed  heads  grotesquely  on  either  side 
to  the  beats  of  the  drum,  retired  for  a 
short  time  to  rest  themselves,  after  which 
they  appeared  again  and  danced  a  dif- 
ferent step.  When  that  was  over,  four 
more  appeared,  and  so  on  until  every 
one,  including  the  boys,  had  had  a  fling. 
Sometimes,  to  give  greater  effect,  the 
performers  carried  a  bunch  of  rushes  in 
one  hand.  About  9  p.  M.,  everybody 
having  had  enough,  Casimiro  gave  the 
sign.  The  band  stopped  playing,  and 
all  retired  to  bed.  The  dancing  was  not 
ungraceful,  but  was  rendered  grotesque 
by  the  absurd  motions  of  the  head.  It 
was  strictly  confined  to  the  men,  the 
women  being  only  allowed  to  look  on. 

At  the  beginning  of  November  we  fell 
in  with  a  party  of  northern  Indians, 
under  a  chief  named  Hinchel,  on  which 
occasion  the  ceremonial  of  welcome  was 
duly  observed.  Both  parties,  fully  arm- 
ed, dressed  in  their  best  and  mounted  on 
their  best  horses,  formed  into  opposite 
fines.  The  northern  Indians  presented 
the  gayest  appearance,  displaying  flan- 
nel shirts,  ponchos  and  a  great  show 
of  silver  spurs  and  ornamental  bridles. 
The  chiefs  then  rode  up  and  down,  dress- 
ing the  ranks  and  haranguing  their  men, 


who  kept  up  a  continual  shouting  of 
\  "  Wap,  Wap,  Wap."  I  fell  in  as  a  full 
private,  though  Casimiro  had  vainly 
endeavored  to  induce  me  to  act  as  "  Cap- 
itanejo"  or  officer  of  a  party.  The  Bue- 
nos Ayrean  colors  were  proudly  display- 
ed on  our  side,  while  the  Northerns  car- 
ried a  white  weft,  their  ranks  presenting 
a  much  better  drilled  aspect  than  our 
ill -disciplined  forces.  Messengers  or 
hostages  were  then  exchanged,  each  side 
deputing  a  son  or  brother  of  the  chief 
for  that  purpose  ;  and  the  new-comers 
advanced,  formed  into  columns  of  threes 
and  rode  round  our  ranks,  firing  their 
guns  and  revolvers,  shouting  and  brand- 
ishing their  swords  and  bolas.  After 
galloping  round  at  full  speed  two  or  three 
times,  they  opened  ranks  and  charged 
out  as  if  attacking  an  enemy,  shouting 
"Koue"  at  every  blow  or  thrust.  The 
object  of  attack  was  supposed  to  be  the 
"Gualichu  "  or  demon,  and  certainly  the 
Demon  of  Discord  had  need  to  be  ex- 
orcised. Hinchel's  party  then  halted 
and  reformed  their  line,  while  we,  in  our 
turn,  executed  the  same  manoeuvres. 
Afterward  the  caciques  advanced  and 
formally  shook  hands,  making,  each  in 
turn,  long  and  complimentary  speeches. 
This  was  repeated  several  times,  the 
etiquette  being  to  answer  only  "  Ahon  " 
or  Yes  until  the  third  repetition,  when 
all  begin  to  talk,  and  formality  is  gradu- 
ally laid  aside.  It  was  rather  a  surprise 
to  find  etiquette  so  rigorously  insisted 
on,  but  these  so-called  savages  are  as 
punctilious  in  observing  the  proper  forms 
as  if  they  were  Spanish  courtiers. 

Guanaco-hunting  having  proved  a  fail- 
ure, Orkeke,  to  my  great  delight,  pro- 
posed a  visit  to  the  wild-cattle  country. 
The  camp  was  accordingly  struck,  and 
following  more  or  less  the  valley  of  the 
river,  which  flowed  after  one  turn  nearly 
due  east,  we  shortly  came  out  into  an 
open  plain  running  up  between  the 
mountains,  at  the  head  of  which  we  en- 
camped by  some  tall  beeches  on  the 
bank  of  the  stream.  The  whole  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  plain  traversed  was 
literally  carpeted  with  strawberry  plants 
all  in  blossom,  the  soil  being  of  a  dark, 
peaty  nature.    Young  ostriches  were  now 


r64 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


numerous,  and  in  every  hunt  some  were      tion  to  our  dinner.     The  children  had 
captured  and  formed  a  welcome  addi-  I  several  alive  as  pets,  which  they  used  to 


let  loose  and  then  catch  with  miniature      Our  programme  was  to  leave  all  the  wo- 
bolas,  generally  ending  in  killing  them,      men,  toldos  and  other  encumbrances  in 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


165 


this  spot,  named  "Weekel,"  or  Chay- 
kash — a  regular  station  which  Hinchel's 
party  had  occupied  a  few  weeks  previ- 
ously— and  proceed  into  the  interior  in 
search  of  cattle.  The  following  morn- 
ing at  daylight  horses  were  caught  and 
saddled,  and,  after  receiving  the  good 
wishes  of  the  women,  who  adjured  us 
to  bring  back  plenty  of  fat  beef,  we 
started  off  just  as  the  sun  was  rising  be- 
hind the  hills  to  the  eastward.  The  air 
was  most  invigorating,  and  we  trotted 
along  for  some  distance  up  a  slightly 
irregular  and  sandy  slope,  halting  after 
an  hour  or  two  by  the  side  of  a  deli- 
ciously  clear  brook  flowing  east,  where 
we  smoked.  We  had  previously  passed 
guanaco  and  ostrich,  but  no  notice  was 
taken  of  them,  the  Indians  having  larger 
game  in  view.  After  passing  this  brook, 
the  head-water  of  the  river  near  which 
we  had  left  the  toldos,  we  skirted  a  large 
basin-like  plain  of  beautiful  green  pas- 
ture, and  after  galloping  for  some  time 
entered  the  forest,  traveling  along  a  path 
which  only  permitted  us  to  proceed  in 
Indian  file.  The  trees  were  in  many 
places  dead — not  blackened  by  fire,  but 
standing  up  like  ghostly  bleached  and 
bare  skeletons.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  all  the  forests  on  the  eastern  side 
are  skirted  by  a  belt  of  dead  trees.  At 
length,  however,  just  as  we  came  in  sight 
of  a  curiously-pointed  rock  which  in  the 
distance  resembled  the  spire  of  a  church, 
we  entered  the  forest  of  live  trees :  the 
undergrowth  was  composed  of  currant, 
bay  and  other  bushes,  whilst  here  and 
there  were  beds  of  yellow  violets,  and 
the  inevitable  strawberry  plants  every- 
where. After  crossing  a  stream  which, 
flowing  from  the  north,  afterward  took  a 
westerly  course,  thus  proving  that  we 
had  passed  the  watershed,  we  proceeded, 
under  cover  of  a  huge  rock,  to  recon- 
noitre the  hunting-ground.  The  scenery 
was  beautiful :  a  valley,  about  a  mile 
wide,  stretched  directly  under  us ;  on 
the  southern  verge  a  silver  line  marked 
the  easterly  river,  and  another  on  the 
northern  the  one  debouching  in  the  Pa- 
cific ;  whilst  above,  on  both  sides,  rose 
high  mountains  covered  with  vegetation 
and  almost  impenetrable  forests.      On 


the  western  side  of  the  valley  a  solitary 
bull  was  leisurely  taking  his  breakfast, 
and  above  our  lookout  rock  a  huge  con- 
dor lazily  flapped  his  wings.  These  were 
the  only  specimens  of  animal  life  in  view. 
Pursuing  our  way  in  perfect  silence,  as 
from  the  first  entrance  into  the  forests 
speaking  had  been  prohibited,  we  fol- 
lowed the  leader  along  the  narrow  cattle- 
path,  passing  here  and  there  the  remains 
of  a  dead  bull  or  cow  that  had  met  its 
fate  by  the  Indians'  lasso,  and  at  length 
descended  to  the  plain.  It  was  about 
mid-day  and  the  day  was  warm,  so  we 
halted,  changed  horses,  looked  to  our 
girths,  got  lassos  ready  for  use,  and  then 
started  on.  As  we  were  proceeding  we 
observed  two  or  three  animals  amongst 
the  woods  on  the  opposite  side,  but, 
knowing  that  it  would  be  useless  to  fol- 
low, pursued  our  course  up  the  valley. 
Having  crossed  the  western  stream,  we 
at  once  entered  a  thicket  where  the  path 
was  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the 
cover,  but  our  leader  never  faltered,  and 
led  the  way  thi-ough  open  glades  alter- 
nating with  thick  woods,  on  every  side 
of  which  were  cattle-marks — many  being 
holes  stamped  out  by  the  bulls — or  wal- 
lowing-places.  The  glades  soon  termi- 
nated in  forests,  which  seemed  to  stretch 
unbroken  on  either  side.  We  had  ex- 
pected before  reaching  this  point  to  find 
cattle  in  considerable  numbers,  but  the 
warmth  of  the  day  had  probably  driven 
them  into  the  thickets  to  seek  shelter. 
We  now  commenced  to  ascend  over  a 
dangerous  path,  encumbered  here  and 
there  with  loose  boulders  and  entangled 
in  dense  thickets,  whilst  we  could  hear 
and  catch  occasional  glimpses  of  the 
river  foaming  down  a  ravine  on  our  left ; 
and  presently  arrived  at  the  top  of  a 
ridge  where  the  forests  became  more 
uniformly  dense,  and  we  could  with 
great  difficulty  pursue  our  way.  It  was 
a  mystery  to  me  how  Orkeke,  who  acted 
as  guide,  knew  where  we  were,  as  on 
one  occasion  the  slightly-marked  paths 
diverged  in  different  directions,  and 
on  another  we  literally  found  ourselves 
amongst  fallen  trees  in  a  forest  so  dense 
that  the  light  of  day  scarcely  penetrated 
its  shades.     Our  leader,  however,  never 


1 66 


AT  NOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


hesitated,  but  led  us  onward  in  all  con- 
fidence. Whilst  brushing  along,  if  I 
may  be  allowed  the  term,  trying  to  keep 
the  leader  in  sight,  I  heard  something 
tapping  on  a  tree,  and,  looking  up,  saw 
close  above  me  a  most  beautifully-fea- 
thered red-crested  woodpecker.  We  at 
length  commenced  to  descend,  and,  after 
passing  many  channels  of  rivulets  issu- 
ing from  springs,  where  a  slip  of  the 
horse's  foot  on  the  wet  and  mossy  stones 
would  have  occasioned  something  worse 
than  broken  bones,  as  they  were  situated 
on  the  edge  of  a  deep  ravine,  finally 
emerged  from  the  woods,  and  found  our- 
selves on  a  hill  of  some  three  hundred 
feet  in  height,  whence  we  looked  down 
on  a  broad  plain  in  the  form  of  a  triangle, 
bounded  by  the  river  flowing  through 
the  ravine  on  the  north  side,  and  on  the 
southern  by  another  coming  from  the 
south,  which  two  streams  united  in  one 
large  river  at  the  western  apex,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  perhaps  a  league.  Above 
and  around,  on  all  sides  excepting  to  the 
west  and  the  ravines  through  which  the 
rivers  flowed,  rose  the  unbroken  wall 
of  the  lofty  mountains  of  the  Cordillera, 
many  of  their  peaks  snow-clad.  No 
sound  was  to  be  heard  except  the  rush- 
ing of  the  river  in  the  ravine,  and  no 
animal  life  to  be  seen  except  a  condor 
or  two  floating  high  above  us  in  the  clear 
sky.  The  scene  was  sublime,  and  I  view- 
ed it  in  silence  for  some  minutes,  till  the 
pipe,  being  handed  to  me,  dispelled  all 
nascent  poetic  tendencies.  The  Indians 
remained  silent  and  looked  disgusted,  as 
a  herd  of  cattle  had  been  expected  to  be 
viewed  on  the  plain  below.  We  descend- 
ed to  the  flats  and  crossed  the  river,  on 
the  banks  of  which  "Paja"  or  pampa- 
grass  grew  in  abundance,  as  well  as  the 
bamboo-like  canes  from  which  Arau- 
canian  Indians  make  their  lance  shafts, 
and  a  plant  called  by  the  Chilians 
"Talka,"  the  stalk  of  which,  resembling 
rhubarb,  is  refreshing  and  juicy.  On 
the  northern  edges  and  slope  of  the  ra- 
vine behind  us  towered  graceful  pines 
sixty  feet  high,  which,  though  an  im- 
passable barrier  of  rock  prevented  close 
inspection,  appeared  to  be  a  species  of 
Araucaria :    the    bark  was  imbricated, 


and  the  stems  rose  bare  of  branches  tor 
two-thirds  of  their  height,  like  those  fig- 
ured by  M.  Gay.  Many  had  been  car- 
ried down  by  landslips,  and  lay  tossed 
and  entangled  on  the  sides  of  the  ra- 
vine. The  increase  of  temperature  after 
passing  the  watershed  was  sensibly  great, 
amounting  to  from  seven  to  ten  degrees, 
and  the  vegetation  far  more  luxuriant, 
the  plants  presenting  many  new  forms 
unknown  at  the  eastern  side.  After 
leaving  the  plain  and  crossing  the  shal- 
low stream,  we  left  our  mantles,  and 
girthed  up  near  a  tree  in  a  thicket  fes- 
tooned with  a  beautiful  creeper,  having 
a  bell-shaped  flower  of  violet  radiated 
with  brown.  The  variety  of  flowers 
made  an  Eden  of  this  lovely  spot : 
climbing  clusters  of  sweet-peas,  vetches, 
rich  golden  flowers  resembling  gorgeous 
marigolds,  and  many  another  blossom, 
filled  the  air  with  perfume  and  delighted 
the  eye  with  their  beauty.  Proceeding 
still  westward,  we  entered  a  vallev  with 
alternate  clumps  of  trees  and  green  pas- 
tures, and  after  riding  about  a  mile  I 
espied  from  a  ridge  on  one  side  of  the 
valley  two  bulls  on  the  other  side,  just 
clear  of  the  thick  woods  bordering  the 
ascent  of  the  mountains.  The  word 
was  passed  in  whispers  to  the  cacique, 
and,  a  halt  being  called  under  cover  of 
some  bushes,  a  plan  of  attack  was  ar- 
ranged in  the  following  manner :  Two 
men  were  sent  round  to  endeavor  to 
drive  the  animals  to  a  clearing  where  it 
would  be  possible  to  use  the  lasso,  the 
remainder  of  the  party  proceeding  down 
toward  the  open  ground  with  1j.=sos, 
ready  to  chase  if  the  bulls  should  come 
that  way.  For  a  few  minutes  we  re- 
mained stationary,  picking  the  stiaw- 
berries,  which  in  this  spot  were  ripe, 
although  the  plants  previously  met  with 
were  only  in  flower.  At  the  end  of  five 
minutes  spent  in  anxiously  hoping  that 
our  plan  would  prove  successful,  a  yell 
from  the  other  side  put  us  on  the  alert, 
and  we  had  the  gratification  to  see  one 
of  the  animals  coming  straight  toward 
our  cover.  Alas !  just  as  we  were  pre- 
paring to  dash  out  he  turned  on  the  edge 
of  the  plain,  and  after  charging  furious- 
ly at  his  pursuer,  dashed  into  a  thicket, 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


167 


(vhere  he  stood  at  bay.  We  immediately 
closed  round  him,  and,  dismounting,  I 
advanced  on  foot  to  try  and  bring  him 
down  with  the  revolver:  just  as  I  had 
got  within  half  a  dozen  paces  of  him, 
an:  behind  a  bush  was  quietly  taking 
ai~  at  his  shoulder,  the  Indians,  eager 
for  beef,  and  safe  on  their  horses  at 
a  considerable  distance  off,  shouted, 
"Nearei  !  nearer!"  I  accordingly  step- 
ped from  my  cover,  but  had  hardly 
moved  a  pace  forward  when  my  spur 
caught  in  a  root :  at  the  same  moment 
"El  Toro "  charged.  Entangled  with 
the  root,  I  could  not  jump  on  one  side 
as  he  came  on  ;  so  when  within  a  yard 
I  fired  a  shot  in  his  face,  hoping  to  turn 
him,  and  wheeled  my  body  at  the  same 
instant  to  prevent  his  horns  from  catch- 
ing me,  as  the  sailors  say,  "broadside 
on."  The  shot  did  not  stop  him,  so  I 
,was  knocked  down,  and,  galloping  over 
me,  he  passed  on  with  my  handkerchief, 
which  fell  from  my  head,  triumphantly 
borne  on  his  horns,  and  stopped  a  few 
yards  off  under  another  bush.  Having 
picked  myself  up  and  found  my  arms 
and  legs  all  right,  1  gave  him  another 
shot,  which,  as  my  hand  was  rather 
unsteady,  only  took  effect  in  the  flank. 
My  cartridges  being  exhausted,  I  return- 
ed to  my  horse  and  found  that,  besides 
being  considerably  shaken,  two  of  my 
ribs  had  been  broken  by  the  encounter. 
The  Indians  closed  round  me,  and 
evinced  great  anxiety  to  know  whether 
I  was  much  hurt.  One,  more  courageous 
than  the  rest,  despite  the  warnings  of  the 
cacique,  swore  that  he  would  try  and 
lasso  the  brute,  and  accordingly  ap- 
proached the  infuriated  animal,  who  for 
a  moment  or  two  showed  no  signs  of 
stirring :  just,  however,  as  the  Indian 
was  about  to  throw  his  lasso  it  caught 
in  a  branch,  and  before  he  could  extri- 
cate it  the  bull  was  on  him.  We  saw 
the  horse  give  two  or  three  vicious  kicks 
as  the  bull  gored  him  :  at  length  he  was 
lifted  clean  up,  the  fore  legs  alone  re- 
maining on  the  ground,  and  overthrown, 
the  rider  alighting  on  his  head  in  a  bush. 
We  closed  up  and  attracted  the  bull  in 
another  direction,  then  went  to  look  for 
the  corpse  of  our  comrade,  who,  how- 


ever, to  our  surprise,  issued  safe  from 
the  bush,  where  he  had  lain  quiet  and 
unhurt,  though  the  horse  was  killed. 

The  first  question  asked  about  the 
Patagonians  by  curious  Enghsh  friends 
has  invariably  had  reference  to  their 
traditionary  stature  :  Are  they  giants  or 
not  ?  Whether  the  ancestors  of  the  Te- 
huelches — to  whom  alone,  by  the  way, 
the  name  Patagonians  properly  applies 
— were  taller  than  the  present  race  is 
uncertain,  though  tales  of  gigantic  skele- 
tons found  in  Tehuelche  graves  are  cur- 
rent in  Punta  Arenas  and  Santa  Cruz. 
The  average  height  of  the  Tehuelche 
male  members  of  the  party  with  which 
I  traveled  was  rather  over  than  under 
five  feet  ten  inches.  Of  course  no  other 
means  of  measurement  be-sides  compar- 
ing my  own  height  were  available,  but 
this  result,  noted  at  the  time,  coincides 
with  that  independently  arrived  at  by  Mr. 
Cunningham.  Two  others,  who  were 
measured  carefully  by  Mr.  Clarke,  stood 
six  feet  four  inches  each.  After  joinmg 
the  northern  Tehuelches,  although  the 
Southerners  proved  generally  the  tallest, 
I  found  no  reason  to  alter  this  average, 
as  any  smaller  men  that  were  met  with 
in  their  company  were  not  pure  Te- 
huelches, but  half-bred  Pampas.  The 
extraordinary  muscular  development  of 
the  arms  and  chest  is  in  all  particularly 
striking,  and  as  a  rule  they  are  well- 
proportioned  throughout.  This  fact  calls 
for  especial  mention,  as  others  have 
stated  that  the  development  and  strength 
of  the  legs  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  arms. 
Even  Mr.  Cunningham  alleges  this  to 
be  the  case,  but  I  cannot  at  all  agree 
with  him.  Besides  the  frequent  oppor- 
tunities afforded  me  of  scrutinizing  the 
young  men  engaged  in  the  game  of  ball, 
in  which  great  strength  and  activity  are 
displayed,  or  when  enjoying  the  almost 
daily  bath  and  swimming  or  diving,  I 
judged  of  the  muscular  size  of  their  legs 
by  trying  on  their  boots,  which  in  nearly 
all  cases  were  far  too  large  for  me,  al- 
though the  feet,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
frequently  smaller  than  mine.  The 
height  of  their  insteps  is  also  worthy  of 
remark,  one  example  of  which  may  suf- 


1 68 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE   PATAGONIANS. 


fice.     Havin<j  negotiated   an   exchange  I  ufactured  by  Messrs.  Thomas,  for  some 
of  an  excellent  pair  of  high  boots,  man-   \  necessary  article  with  a  Tchuclche,  the 


bargam  fell  through  because  he  was  un-  I  high-arched  instep  proving  an  insuper- 
able to  get  his  foot  into  the  boot,  the  I  able  obstacle  to  farther  progress. 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE   PATAGONIANS. 


169 


Their  faces,  of  course,  vary  in  expres- 
sion, but  are  ordinarily  bright  and  good- 
humored,  though  when  in  the  settle- 
ments they  assume  a  sober,  and  even 
sullen,  demeanor.  Waki  and  Cayuke, 
two  friends  of  mine,  are  particularly 
present  to  my  recollection  as  having 
always  had  a  smile  on  their  faces. 
Their  ever-ready  laughter  displays  uni- 
versally good  teeth,  which  they  keep 
white  and  clean  by  chewing  "maki,"  a 
gum  which  exudes  from  the  incense 
bush,  and  is  carefully  gathered  by  the 
women  and  children.  It  has  a  rather 
pleasant  taste  and  is  a  most  excellent 
dentifrice,  worthy  to  rival  Odonto  or 
Floriline,  and  it  is  used  simply  as  such, 
and  not,  as  M.  Guinnard  says,  because 
their  greediness  is  so  great  that  they 
must  chew  something.  Their  eyes  are 
bright  and  intelligent,  and  their  noses — 
though,  of  course,  presenting  different 
types — are  as  a  rule  aquiline  and  well- 
formed,  and  devoid  of  the  breadth  of 
nostril  proper  to  the  ordinary  ideal  of 
savage  tribes.  The  peculiar  prominence 
over  the  eyebrows  has  been  noticed  by 
all  observers,  and  retreating  foreheads, 
though  observable,  are  exceptional.  The 
thick  masses  of  hair  and  the  obvious 
risk,  which  would  deter  the  most  zealous 
craniologist  from  endeavoring  to  meas- 
ure their  heads,  must  be  deemed  suf- 
ficient excuse  for  my  not  being  able  to 
state  whether  they  are  dolichokephalic 
or  brachykephalic  —  a  point,  however, 
which  I  confess  did  not  particularly  at- 
tract my  observation  ;  but  for  the  partial 
comfort  of  anthropologists,  be  it  noted 
that  both  Chilians  and  myself  inter- 
changed hats  with  some  Tehuelches, 
especially  Orkeke  and  Hinchel,  without 
finding  misfits.  The  complexion  of  the 
men  is  reddish-brown — that  is  to  say, 
when  cleansed  from  paint,  and,  like  an 
old  picture,  restored  to  its  pristine  tint, 
which  is  not  quite  so  deep  as  to  warrant 
Fitzroy's  comparison  of  it  to  the  color  of 
a  Devon  cow. 

The  scanty  natural  growth  of  beard, 
moustaches,  and  even  eyebrows,  is  care- 
fully eradicated  by  means  of  a  pair  of 
silver  tweezers,  and  I  was  often  urged 
to  part  with  my  beard  and  undergo  this 


painful  operation,  but  I  naturally  object- 
ed to  complying  with  the  request.  The 
men's  heads  are  covered  with  thick, 
flowing  masses  of  long  hair,  of  which 
they  take  great  care,  making  their  wives 
or  other  female  relatives  brush  it  out 
carefully  at  least  once  a  day.  Ver)'  few 
appeared  to  have  gray  hair,  though  there 
were  a  few  exceptions,  one  very  old 
man's  hair  being  of  a  snowy  whiteness, 
which  contrasted  strangely  with  his 
tawny  face.  The  women  have,  as  far 
as  I  could  judge,  an  average  height  of 
about  five  feet  six  :  they  are  very  strong 
in  the  arms,  but  seldom  walk,  beyond 
fetching  the  supplies  of  wood  and  water, 
all  their  journeys  being  performed  on 
horseback.  Their  hair,  which  is  of  no 
great  length,  scarcely  indeed  equaling 
that  of  the  men,  and  very  coarse,  is 
worn  in  two  plaited  tails,  which  on  gala- 
days  are  artificially  lengthened,  prob- 
ably with  horsehair  interwoven  with 
blue  beads,  the  ends  being  garnished 
with  silver  pendants.  This  practice, 
however,  is  confined,  I  think,  to  the  un- 
married ladies. 

The  young  women  are  frequently 
good-looking,  displaying  healthy,  ruddy 
cheeks  when  not  disguised  with  paint. 
They  are  modest  in  behavior,  though 
very  coquettish,  and  as  skilled  in  flirta- 
tion as  if  they  had  been  taught  in  more 
civilized  society,  appealing  as  prettily 
for  help  as  a  young  lady  in  imaginary 
difficulties  over  a  country  stile.  Thus, 
when  at  Orkeke's  request  I  led  the  way 
through  a  river  —  halfway  across  the 
channel  suddenly  deepened,  with  mud- 
dy bottom,  and  an  abrupt  bank  to  land 
on — I  heard  a  plaintive  appeal,  "Mus- 
ter, help  me  !  my  horse  is  too  small." 
Exposure  and  work  do  not  age  them  as 
soon  as  might  be  expected,  but  when 
old  they  become  most  hideous  beldams, 
and  the  most  weird-like  witches  imagined 
by  Dore  would  be  surpassed  by  a  trio 
of  Tehuelche  grandams.  The  dress  of 
the  men  consists  of  a  chiripa  or  under- 
garment round  the  loins,  made  of  a 
poncho,  a  piece  of  cloth,  or  even  of  a 
guanaco  mantle ;  but,  whatever  the  ma- 
terial, this  article  of  dress  is  indispens- 
able and  scrupulously  worn,  their  sense 


I  70 


AT  HOME    WITH  THE   PATAGONIANS. 


of  decency  being  very  strong.     All  other 
garments  are  supplied  by  the  capacious 


and   warm    skin -mantle,    which,    worn 
with  tlic  fur  inside  and  the  painted  s.de 


out,  will  keep  the  wearer  dry  for  a  con- 
siderable time  in   the  wettest  weather. 


This  is  often  dispensed  with  in  the  cb-«se, 
but  if  worn  when  riding  is  secured  at  the 


AT  HOME    Wirn    THE   PATAGONIANS. 


171 


waist  by  a  belt  of  hide  or  leather  if  it 
can  be  obtained.  When  in  camp  the 
belt  is  not  used,  and  the  garment  is  worn 
loose,  something  after  the  fashion  of  the 
melodramatic  assassin's  cloak.  When 
sitting  by  the  fireside,  or  even  when 
walking  about,  the  furred  part  of  the 
mantle  is  generally  kept  up  over  the 
mouth,  as  the  Tehuelches  aver  that  the 
cold  wind  causes  sore  gums — a  habit 
which  assists  in  rendering  their  guttural, 
and  at  all  times  rather  unintelligible, 
language  more  difficult  of  comprehen- 
sion to  the  novice. 

The  women's  dress  consists  of  a  man- 
tle similar  to  that  worn  by  the  men,  but 
secured  at  the  throat  by  a  large  silver 
pin  with  a  broad  disk,  or  a  nail,  or  thorn, 
according  to  the  wealth  or  poverty  of 
the  wearer ;  and  under  this  is  a  loose 
calico  or  stuff  sacque,  extending  from 
the  shoulders  to  the  ankle.  When  trav- 
eling the  mantle  is  secured  at  the  waist 
by  a  broad  belt  ornamented  with  blue 
beads  and  silver  or  brass  studs.  The 
boots  worn  by  the  women  are  similar  to 
those  described,  with  the  exception  that 
in  their  preparation  the  hair  is  left  on 
the  hide,  while  it  is  carefully  removed 
from  those  of  the  men.  The  children 
are  dressed  in  small  mantles,  but  are 
more  frequently  allowed  to  run  about 
naked  up  to  the  age  of  six  or  eight :  their 
little  boots  are  made  from  the  skin  taken 
from  the  fore  legs  of  the  guanaco,  soft- 
ened in  the  hand.  The  small  children 
generally  remonstrated  strongly  and  ef- 
fectually against  wearing  this  article  of 
clothing,  and,  whatever  the  severity  of 
the  weather,  preferred  running  about 
barefoot.  The  cradles  for  the  babies  are 
formed  of  strips  of  wickerwork  interlaced 
with  hide  thongs,  fitted  with  a  cover  to 
keep  sun  and  rain  off,  and  made  of  a 
convenient  shape  to  rest  on  the  saddle- 
gear  of  the  mother  when  on  the  march. 
They  are  ornamented,  if  the  parents  are 
wealthy,  with  little  bells,  brass  or  even 
silver  plates.  The  women  are  fond  of 
ornaments,  wearing  huge  earrings  of 
square  shape,  suspended  to  small  rings 
passing  through  the  lobe  of  the  ear ; 
also  silver  or  blue-bead  necklaces.  The 
men    also   wear   these    necklaces,    and 


adorn  their  belts,  pipes,  knives,  sheaths 
and  horse-gear  with  silver.  Those  who 
can  afford  it  also  indulge  in  silver  spurs 
and  stirrups  :  most  of  their  ornaments, 
except  the  beads,  are  homemade,  being 
beaten  out  of  dollars  obtained  by  com- 
merce in  the  settlements.  Both  sexes 
smear  their  faces,  and  occasionally  their 
bodies,  with  paint,  the  Indians  alleging 
as  the  reason  for  using  this  cosmetic  that 
it  is  a  protection  against  the  effect  of  the 
winds  ;  and  I  found  from  personal  ex- 
perience that  it  proved  a  complete  pre- 
servative from  excoriation  or  chapped 
skin.  The  paint  for  the  face  is  composed 
of  either  red  ochre  or  black  earth  mixed 
with  grease  obtained  from  the  marrow- 
bones of  the  game  killed  in  the  chase, 
all  of  which  are  carefully  husbanded  by 
the  women,  and  when  opportunity  offers 
pounded  and  boiled  in  the  large  pots, 
the  grease  and  gelatine  being  carefully 
skimmed  off  and  secured.  On  state  oc- 
casions, such  as  a  birth-feast,  and  for  a 
dance,  the  men  further  adorn  themselves 
with  white  paint  or  powdered  gypsum, 
which  they  moisten  and  rub  on  their 
hands,  and  make  five  white  finger-marks 
over  their  chests,  arms  and  legs.  The 
usual  morning  toilette  is  simple  :  after 
the  plunge  in  the  river,  which  is  almost 
always  the  first  thing — except  of  course 
when  circumstances  prevent  it — indulged 
in  by  both  sexes,  who  bathe  scrupulous- 
ly apart,  and  generally  before  daylight, 
the  men's  hair  is  dressed  by  their  wives, 
daughters  or  sweethearts,  who  take  the 
greatest  care  to  burn  any  hairs  that  may 
be  brushed  out,  as  they  fully  believe  that 
spells  may  be  wrought  by  evil-intention- 
ed  persons  who  can  obtain  a  piece  of 
their  hair.  From  the  same  idea,  after 
cutting  their  nails  the  parings  are  care- 
fully committed  to  the  flames.  After 
the  hair-brushing,  which  is  performed  by 
means  of  a  rude  hand-brush,  the  women 
adorn  the  men's  faces  with  paint :  if  in 
mourning  they  put  on  black  paint,  and 
if  going  to  fight,  sometimes  put  a  little 
white  paint  under  the  eyes,  which  assists 
in  contrast  to  the  other  in  giving  a  sav- 
age expression.  The  women  paint  each 
other's  faces,  or  if  possessed,  as  some- 
times occurs,  of  a  fragment  of  looking- 


172 


AT  HOME    WITH   THE   PATAGONIANS. 


glass,  paint  their  own.  Both  sexes  tattoo 
on  the  forearm,  by  the  simple  process  of 
puncturing  the  skin  with  a  bodkin  and 
inserting  a  mixture  of  blue  earth  with  a 
piece  of  dry  glass :  the  usual  patterns 
consist  of  a  series  of  parallel  lines,  and 
sometimes  a  single  triangle  or  a  double 
triangle,  the  upper  one  resting  on  the 
apex  of  the  lower.  I  myself  had  one 
line  tattooed  by  a  fair  enslaver,  and  con- 
fess that  the  process  was  rather  painful. 
The  religion  of  the  Tehuelches  is  dis- 
tinguished from  that  of  the  Pampas  and 
Araucanians  by  the  absence  of  any  trace 
of  sun-worship,  although  the  new  moon 
is  saluted,  the  respectful  gesture  being  ac- 
companied by  some  low  muttered  words 
which  I  never  could  manage  to  hear. 
They  believe  in  a  great  and  good  Spirit, 
though  they  think  he  lives  "  careless  of 
mankind."  They  have  no  idols  or  ob- 
jects of  worship,  nor — if  a  year's  expe- 
rience can  enable  one  to  judge — do  they 
observe  any  periodical  religious  festival 
on  which  either  the  good  or  evil  spirit  is 
adored.  The  mention  of  this  by  other 
travelers  can  only  be  explained  by  con- 
fused accounts  which  have  attributed 
Araucanian  customs  to  the  totally  dis- 
tinct Patagonians.  The  belief  which 
prompts  all  their  religious  acts  is  that  in 
the  existence  of  many  active  and  ma- 
licious evil  spirits  or  demons,  of  whom 
the  principal  one  is  always  on  the  watch 
to  cause  mischief.  To  propitiate  or  drive 
away  this  spirit  is  the  function  of  the 
wizard,  or  doctor,  or  medicine-man,  who 
combines  the  medical  and  magical  arts, 
though  not  possessed  of  an  exclusive 
faculty  for  either.  All  sacrifices  of  mares 
and  horses,  not  at  stated  times,  but  as 
occasion  requires,  such  as  a  birth,  death. 


etc.,  are  intended  to  propitiate  the  Gua- 
lichu.  When  a  child  hurts  itself,  the 
slaughter  of  mares  seems  to  partake  at 
once  of  the  nature  of  a  thank-offering 
that  the  hurt  was  no  worse,  and  a  pro- 
pitiation to  avert  further  harm. 

Whilst  in  their  native  wilds  I  observed 
little  immorality  amongst  the  Indians : 
in  the  settlements,  however,  when  de- 
based by  intoxication,  they  are  no  doubt 
depraved  and  loose  in  their  ideas.  But 
it  must  be  recorded  that  on  the  entry  of 
the  Indians  into  the  settlements  of  the 
Rio  Negro  at  a  subsequent  period,  most^ 
of  the  young  women  and  girls  were  left 
with  the  toldos  in  Valchita,  outside  the 
Travesia,  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  temp- 
tations. There  are  many  Tehuelche 
youths  now  growing  up  who  have  the 
greatest  abhorrence  of  liquor ;  and  I 
hope  that  in  time  this  abstinence  will 
spread  farther  among  them,  for  they 
possess  no  intoxicants  of  their  own,  and 
the  rum  is  an  import  from  the  Christians, 
the  ill  effects  of  which  they  are  well  able 
to  discern. 

One  word  of  advice  to  the  future  trav- 
eler may  conclude  this  imperfect  sketch. 
Never  show  distrust  of  the  Indians  :  be 
as  free  with  your  goods  and  chattels  as 
they  are  to  each  other.  Don't  ever 
want  anything  done  for  you  —  always 
catch  and  saddle  your  own  horse.  Don't 
give  yourself  airs  of  superiority,  as  they 
do  not  understand  it,  unless  you  can 
prove  yourself  better  in  some  distinct 
way.  Always  be  first,  as  you  are  not 
likely  to  be  encumbered  by  a  wife  or 
gear,  in  crossing  rivers  or  any  other  dif- 
ficulties :  they  will  learn  by  degrees  to 
respect  you.  In  a  word,  as  you  treat 
them  so  they  will  treat  you. 


A    TOUR   IN   THE    CHI  A' A    SEAS. 


173 


W 


A  TOUR   IN  THE   CHINA   SEAS. 
HAT  a  prospect !     A  six  months 


tour  in  the  China  seas,  with  the 
promise  of  touching  at  points  of  interest 


"  all  along  the  coast,"  sketching  all  man- 
ner of  scenes  ad  libitum,  and  gathering 
specimens  in  every  department  of  nat- 


ural science  I  Who  could  withstand  such 
a  temptation  ?  True,  I  had  been  over  the 
ground  before — had  lingered  long  and 


lovingly  among  the  temples  and  palms 
and  all  the  indescribable  wealth  of  trop- 
ical life  and  scenerj'  as  it  lay  outspread 


174 


A    TOUR   IN  THE    CHINA   SEAS. 


beneath  the  soft,  warm  skies  and  float- 
ing, fleecy  clouds,  the  glorious  starlight 
gleamings  and  golden  sunsets,  that  con- 
stitute the  great  charm  of  the  dreamy 
East.  But  memories  of  former  tours  had 
only  whetted  the  appetite  for  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  feast,  and  I  made  no  delay  in 
accepting  the  invitation.  The  Lady  of 
Lyons  had  touched  at  Singapore  for  wa- 
ter and  provisions,  bringing  to  us,  in  the 
person  of  her  commander,  the  famihar 
face  of  an  old  friend,  the  genial  com- 
panion of  our  first  year's  life  in  the 
Orient.  Then  "auld  lang  syne"  had  to 
be  discussed,  and  the  interval  that  bridged 
the  past  and  present  talked  over ;  but  the 
vessel  was  to  sail  in  two  days  at  farthest, 
so  said  her  chief,  and  our  communings 
must  perforce  be  adjourned  to  where  the 
friendship  began — on  shipboard.  For- 
tunately, such  inveterate  excursionists 
needed  short  time  for  preparation.  Light 
grass-cloth  suits  and  straw  hats,  of  which 
a  fresh  supply  can  be  purchased  at  any 
point  of  the  journey,  do  not  require 
"Saratogas"  for  packing,  books  and 
baskets  are  easy  of  transit,  and  the 
ubiquitous  coj/iprador  looks  out  for  the 
rest.  So  a  bright,  breezy  morning  in 
the  waning  days  of  August  found  our 
little  party  "all  aboard,"  and  ready  to 
enter  with  eager  zest  upon  such  explo- 
rations and  adventures  as  the  future 
might  offer. 

My  earliest  cruise  in  the  China  Seas 
had  been  among  the  almost  continuous 
chain  of  islands,  the  narrow  passages, 
reefs  and  shoals,  that  form  the  distin- 
guishing features  of  the  entire  route  from 
New  South  Wales  to  the  island  of  For- 
mosa by  the  north-eastern  course,  bring- 
ing successively  to  view  the  mountain- 
peaks  of  Australia,  the  dense  forests  of 
New  Guinea,  the  emerald  verdure  of 
Gillolo  and  Morty,  the  abrupt  cliffs  of 
Mindanao,  and  others  of  the  lovely  Phil- 
lippine  group.  The  course  of  the  Lady 
of  Lyons  was  to  the  south-west  of  Borneo, 
along  the  shores  of  a  distinct  division  of 
these  tropic  islands,  chief  among  which 
are  Sumatra,  Java  and  Timor.  These, 
with  Floris,  Bally,  Sumbawa  and  a  host 
of  smaller  isles,  mostly  of  volcanic  origin, 
and  many  of  them   uninhabited,  form 


the  natural  boundary  between  the  Indo- 
China  Sea  and  the  Pacific.  After  several 
days'  cruising  among  the  myriad  of  tiny 
islets  that  render  navigation  in  the  Java 
Sea  so  replete  with  danger,  the  Straits 
of  Sunda  were  passed,  and  then  the  nar- 
row strait  that  separates  Timor  from  Om- 
bay.  For  the  latter  we  were  fortunate  in 
having  a  full  moon  and  a  strong  wester- 
ly breeze,  enabling  us  to  make  the  pas- 
sage by  night,  and  thus  obtaining  such  a 
vision  of  radiant  beauty  as  comes  but 
rarely  even  beneath  tropic  skies.  On 
our  right  were  distinctly  visible  the  clear 
smooth  outlines  of  Timor,  with  its  fringed 
verdure  reaching  down  to  the  very  wa- 
ters, while  on  the  left  towered  in  grandeur 
the  volcanic  peaks  of  Floris,  Panthar 
and  Ombay,  seeming  to  rise  out  of  the 
very  bosom  of  the  sea,  their  sides  wreath- 
ed in  fleecy  vapor,  and  their  lurid  summits 
seeming  to  pierce  the  blue  ether. 

At  daylight  we  anchored  off  the  coast 
of  Timor,  and  spent  the  day  in  roaming 
about  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Portuguese 
settlement  of  Baton  Guidi,  a  miserably 
dilapidated  trading  ranche,  equally  at  va- 
riance with  the  verdant  tropical  beauty 
all  around  and  the  splendor  of  the  con- 
quests achieved  in  these  seas  by  the  sword 
of  Albuquerque  in  old  days.  With  a  most 
genial  climate,  and  a  soil  of  perennial 
verdure  capable  of  producing  in  abun- 
dance all  the  tropical  fruits  and  grains, 
this  island  of  Timor,  as  large  as  that  of 
Sicily,  has  a  population  of  scarcely  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand;  and,  though 
a  flourishing  depot  of  trade  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  is  now 
rapidly  sinking  into  insignificance.  The 
Portuguese  have  under  cultivation  only 
a  narrow  belt  of  soil  on  the  seaboard  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Baton  Guidi, 
where,  intermingled  with  forest  trees, 
grow  luxuriantly  grapes,  bananas,  gua- 
vas  and  shaddocks.  The  Chinese  have  a 
settlement  on  the  northern  coast,  whence 
they  export  sandal-wood,  wax,  fruits  and 
fish  to  Java  and  Singapore,  driving  a 
brisk  trade  and  growing  rich  by  industry 
and  frugality,  as  John  Chinaman  always 
does,  settle  where  he  may.  The  aborig- 
inal Malays  still  occupy  some  portions 
of  the  interior,  living  in  a  condition  so 


A    TOUR   IN   THE    CHIiXA    SEAS. 


10 


little  above  that  of  the  brutes  as  to  fur- 
nish the  best  apology  for  Darwinism  it 
has  been  my  fortune  to  meet  in  any  part 
of  the  world.  The  residue,  comprising 
perhaps  the  major  portion  of  this  lovely 


island,  is  the  heritage  of  monkeys,  who 
gibe  and  chatter  from  tree  to  tree,  and 
certainly  seem  to  thrive,  "  multiply  and 
increase"  in  this  stronghold  of  their  race. 
The  third  day  found  us  again  under 


weigh,  steering  toward  the  Moluccas  or 
Spice  Islands,  of  which  Amboyna  is  the 
most  noted,  as  well  as  the  chief  empor- 
ium of  trade,  and  the  residence  of  the 
Dutch  governor.     To  this  group  also  be- 


long Morty  and  Gillolo,  north  of  the  line, 
and  Booro,  Obi,  Batchian,  Mysole,  Wai- 
gou,  the  Isles  of  Banda  and  Salawatti  to 
the  south — a  vast  territory  of  rich  arable 
and  forest  lands,  suggestive  of  wondrous 


176 


A    TO  UK   /A    7'JIE    CHINA   SEAS. 


possibilities  under  better  management ; 
but  many  of  the  islands  are  wholly  un- 
cultivated, showing  dense  forests,  into 
which  man  has  probably  never  pene- 
trated, though  the  timber  is  said  to  be  of 
the  finest  quality.  Amboyna  is  specially 
devoted  to  the  culture  of  the  clove,  and 
the  Isles  of  Banda  to  the  nutmeg. 

The  island  of  Amboyna  is  composed 
of  two  mountainous  peninsulas,  united 
at  their  eastern  extremity  by  a  narrow 
isthmus.  Fronting  the  beautiful  bay 
stands  Port  Victory,  built  by  the  Portu- 
guese in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  taken  by  the  Dutch  in  1605. 
The  anchorage-ground  is  underneath  the 
very  walls  of  this  fort — a  safe,  wide  har- 
bor where  usually  float  vessels  of  half  a 
score  of  nations.  We  landed  at  evening, 
the  glorious  tropical  sunshine  bathing 
with  the  gold  of  its  expiring  rays  roof 
and  gable,  tree  and  shrub,  and  shedding 
a  bright  haze  over  the  smooth  waters, 
into  which  dipped  great  fern  leaves  twice 
the  height  of  a  man,  while  whole  for- 
ests of  graceful  trees  filled  up  the  back- 
ground. On  the  coast  are  extensive  fac- 
tories for  storing,  selling  and  shipping 
the  spices,  while  toward  the  interior,  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  stretch  the  plan- 
tations whose  balsamic  perfume  fills  the 
air.  Amboyna  is  also  a  grand  depot  for 
shells,  which  are  shipped  to  every  quar- 
ter of  the  civilized  world.  Many  rare 
and  beautiful  varieties,  among  them  the 
ear-shell,  so  called  from  its  exact  resem- 
blance to  the  human  ear,  and  the  exqui- 
site paper  nautilus,  are  peculiar  to  Am- 
boyna. Choice  specimens  of  the  flesh- 
tinted  ear-shells  bring  readily  five  hun- 
dred rupees  a  pair,  and  are  eagerly  sought 
for  by  naturalists  and  amateur  collectors. 
The  Chinese,  who  are  by  far  the  most 
thrifty  portion  of  the  population,  drive  a 
brisk  trade  in  shells  and  corals,  shipping 
to  Singapore  and  Canton,  and  amassing 
fortunes  by  the  traffic.  They  are  also 
largely  engaged  in  the  cultivation  and 
sale  of  spices,  and  their  plantations  are 
said  to  be  the  best  on  these  islands.  The 
unflagging  industry  of  the  Chinese  is  so 
strikingly  in  contrast  with  the  indolence 
and  effeminacy  of  the  European  resi- 
dents, their  neatness  and  thrift  so  unlike 


the  filth  and  squalor  of  the  Malays,  and 
their  good-humor  under  all  circumstances 
so  imperturbable,  that  they  are  universally 
respected,  often  holding  offices  of  honor 
and  emolument  in  the  municipality;  and 
by  the  annual  payment  of  a  trifling  poll- 
tax  they  are  permitted  to  have  in  their 
own  quarter  a  Chinese  police  force,  in- 
spector-general and  port-captain,  with 
whom  alone  they  have  to  deal  in  affairs 
among  themselves,  while  the  officers  re- 
port at  stated  times  to  the  local  authori- 
ties appointed  by  the  Dutch  government. 

It  is  now  about  two  centuries  and  a 
half  since  the  Chinese  began  to  settle  in 
Amboyna,  and  though,  in  accordance 
with  their  invariable  custom  of  taking 
wives  of  the  people  among  whom  they 
colonize,  they  have  all  along  intermar- 
ried with  the  Malays,  their  children  have 
been  reared  in  their  own  national  pecu- 
liarities of  religion,  dress  and  language. 
Nature,  too,  has  seemed  to  aid  them,  for 
these  Chinese  children  of  Malayan  moth- 
ers retain,  after  all  these  years  of  colon- 
ization, not  only  the  thrift,  industry  and 
wonderful  business  capacity  of  their 
fathers,  but  the  identical  high  cheek- 
bones, square  foreheads  and  oblique 
angle  of  the  eye  that  characterize  the 
native-born  Celestial  of  unmixed  descent. 

The  entire  population  of  Amboyna  is 
scarcely  forty  thousand  for  both  penin- 
sulas, and  of  these  some  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  reside  within  the  settlement. 
The  town,  which  is  composed  of  three 
distinct  quarters,  is  built  so  completely 
in  the  rear  of  the  fort  as  to  be  almost 
hidden  from  the  sea  by  the  shadow  of 
its  immense  walls.  In  the  European  sec- 
tion, which  is  that  nearest  the  citadel,  the 
houses  are  painted  or  plastered  white, 
and  with  their  graceful  colonnades  or 
verandahs,  an  abundance  of  shade  trees 
and  an  occasional  flower-garden  in  front, 
they  present  a  cool  and  attractive  ap- 
pearance. To  the  left  is  the  Malay  cam- 
pong,  with  bamboo  huts  built  on  each 
side  of  a  little  stream  that  discharges  its 
waters  into  Amboyna  Bay.  The  low, 
thatched  roofs  are  often  hidden  by  the 
thick  jungle  that  is  suffered  to  intrude 
almost  to  the  doors  of  the  cabins ;  and 
the   whole   aspect    is   one   of    shadowy 


A    TO  UK   IN  THE    CHINA   SEAS. 


177 


gloom,  in  strong  contrast  with  the  neat, 
cheery  air  of  the  Chinese  quarter,  where 
each  house  is  adorned  with  painted  silk 
lanterns,  and  with  gayly-colored  screens 


that  freely  admit  the  breeze  without  in- 
terfering with  the  privacy  of  the  domestic 
menage. 

At  Ternate  and  Tidor  reside  the  only 


ASSASSINATION   OF   GOVERNOR   AMARAL   AT   MACAO. 


two  native  princes  who  yet  retain  even  a 
semblance  of  power  over  their  ancient 
dominions ;  and  these  two  islands,  among 
the  smallest  of  the  Molucca  group,  are 
rather  the  political  centres  of  the  aborig- 


inal inhabitants  than  agricultural  or  com- 
mercial establishments.  The  people,  in 
feature,  habits  and  national  character- 
istics, are  the  most  perfect  type  of  the 
Malay  race  to  be  met  with  anywhere, 


12 


178 


A    TOUR   IN  THE   CHINA   SEAS. 


while  the  language  is  said  to  be  spoken 
with  greater  purity  in  the  Moluccas  than 
in  any  other  of  their  settlements.  Hence 
it  has  been  argued  that  the  Moluccas 
form  the  cradle  of  the  Malayan  race, 


though  their  original  country  is  not  cer- 
tainly known.     But  traditions  current  at 
Celebes,  Malacca,  Singapore  and  Suma 
tra  all  point  to  the  Moluccas,  and  assign 
their  origin  to  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 


century.  The  story  is,  that  a  pirate  chief 
of  the  Celebes  touching  at  the  Moluccas 
a  number  of  his  people  deserted,  and 
concealed  themselves  in  the  jungle  till 
the  ship  had  sailed.     The  island  was 


then  uninhabited,  except  by  a  few  fish- 
ermen and  their  families,  who  had  come 
here  to  ply  their  trade.  They  lived  in 
boats,  and  are  supposed  to  have  belong- 
ed to  the  Orang  Laut,  "men  of  water," 


A    TOUR   IN  THE    CHINA    SEAS. 


179 


so  numerous  about  Singapore,  and  about  naked,  and  subsist  entirely  on  fish,  worms 

the  most  pitiable  and  degraded  specimens  and  grubs.     The  men  who  deserted  took 

of  humanity  known  to  exist.     They  are  the  daughters  of  these  fishermen  for  wives 

born,  live  and  die  in  boats,  usually  go  j  and  drove  off  the  males  of  the  party,  re- 


SA»j  qua's  shop  at  canton. 


taining  two  of  their  boats  for  foraging 
expeditions  to  the  neighboring  islands, 
whence  wives  were  obtained  for  those 
of  the  party  not  already  supplied.  They 
grew,  in  time,  to  be  a  numerous  people. 


sent  colonies  to  Sumatra,  Singapore, 
Malacca  and  Celebes,  and,  rising  to  do- 
minion, expelled  or  destroyed  the  abo- 
rigines and  took  possession  of  their  lands. 
The  Malays  of  modern  times  exhibit  the 


I  So 


A    TOUR   IN   THE    CHINA    SEAS. 


lawless  habits  of  their  fathers,  and  seem 
to  retain  the  penchant  of  their  maternal 
ancestors  for  boat-life,  the  combination 
forming  the  piratical  proclivities  for  which 
the  entire  race  is  noted.  We  saw  from 
our  ship's  deck  several  of  their  pleasure- 
excursions,  always  by  water,  in  the  long, 
narrow  batteaux  called  by  the  Malays 
koro-koro.  They  are  usually  paddled 
by  half  a  dozen  oarsmen,  and  are  fur- 
nished also  with  a  rude  mast  and  sail  of 
cocoa  matting.  The  stroke  of  the  oars 
is  invariably  accompanied  by  music,  of 
which  the  Malays  are  passionately  fond. 
Their  instruments  —  cymbals,  timbrels, 
and  occasionally  drums  —  are  of  very 
primitive  make,  whilst  their  songs,  im- 
provised for  the  occasion,  are  often  ten- 
der and  touching.  It  is  a  current  saying 
among  the  Malays  that  "all  the  love  of 
a  man's  nature  is  thrown  into  his  songs, 
and  all  the  hate  goes  out  at  the  point  of 
his  kris  (dagger)." 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  Moluccas 
we  paid  a  visit,  by  special  invitation,  to 
the  Malayan  rajah  at  Ternate,  the  grand 
inducement  being  to  witness  the  famous 
"sword-dance"  that  was  announced  for 
the  occasion.  It  was  performed  by  a 
score  or  two  of  ten-year-old  boys,  who 
rushed  pell-mell  into  the  arena,  appar- 
ently on  murderous  thoughts  intent,  but 
armed  only  with  wooden  swords.  Their 
costume  was  an  imitation  of  that  of  the 
Spanish  hidalgo,  except  the  hats,  which 
were  monstrous  affairs  of  black  felt  curi- 
ously decorated  with  the  wings  and  tails 
of  birds-of-paradise,  so  wound  and  twist- 
ed up  with  other  materials  as  to  form  im- 
mense turbans.  The  clang  of  wooden 
blades  and  the  echo  of  bare  feet  over 
the  smooth  inlaid  floor,  with  the  cheery 
sounds  of  fresh  young  voices,  rang 
through  the  spacious  saloon :  piquant 
brown  faces  were  aglow  with  fun,  and 
mischievous  black  eyes  danced  danger- 
ously as  these  youthful  Terpsichoreans 
flew  wildly  around  in  several  very  grace- 
ful and  exciting  dances.  There  was  no 
selection  of  partners,  but  each  took  po- 
sition according  to  his  own  fancy  as 
they  whizzed  and  whirled  simultaneously 
about  each  other  within  the  circumfer- 
ence of  an  imaginary  circle,  performing 


the  most  eccentric  gyrations  and  describ- 
ing a  variety  of  figures  utterly  incompre- 
hensible to  the  uninitiated.  After  these 
came  martial  exercises,  a  sort  of  hand- 
to-hand  combat  of  the  entire  company, 
each  selecting  his  own  opponent;  and  the 
affair  wound  up  by  a  general  rush  upon 
their  leader,  driving  him  into  a  corner, 
and  then  surrounding  him  with  a  circle 
of  crossed  swords,  and  compelling  him 
to  capitulate  for  his  release.  Then  they 
formed  themselves  into  two  bands,  and 
carried  on  a  mock  battle  with  all  man- 
ner of  unheard-of  manoeuvres — so  skill- 
fully managed,  however,  on  both  sides 
that  forty  minutes  elapsed  before  either 
gained  an  advantage.  At  last  one  of  the 
leaders  captured  his  opponent's  sword, 
and,  snapping  the  blade  in  twain,  threw 
the  pieces  across  the  stage,  for  which  in- 
trepid act  he  was  rewarded  by  the  gift  of 
a  real  sword  from  his  sovereign,  while 
the  vanquished  retired  in  disgrace.  Sev- 
eral epic  poems  illustrative  of  the  war- 
dances  were  recited,  and  occasionally  a 
stout  little  improvisatore,  who  could  not 
have  seen  more  than  eight  years,  enter- 
tained us  with  a  farcical  song  that  elicit- 
ed thunders  of  applause. 

From  this  exhibition  we  passed  to  the 
supper-room,  and  spent  an  hour  very 
pleasantly  in  conversation  with  the  rajah 
— "sultan"  by  courtesy,  but  really  only 
a  pensioned  official  under  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernment, from  which  he  receives  an  an- 
nuity of  about  fourteen  thousand  dollars. 
It  is  rather  amusing  to  watch  the  stereo- 
typed forms  of  etiquette  so  punctiliously 
observed  between  the  "sultan  "  and  the 
"resident"  on  all  public  occasions,  each 
extremely  chary  of  yielding  an  iota  to 
the  other.  There  happened  to  be  a 
court-ball  given  by  the  resident  during 
our  stay,  at  which  the  sultan,  his  lady 
(the  Hollanders  will  acknowledge  but 
one  of  the  sultan's  numerous  wives  as 
such)  and  his  adult  children  were  guests. 
According  to  the  programme,  the  resident 
received  the  sultan  at  the  door  of  the 
main  reception-room,  embraced  him,  and 
led  him  to  a  seat  beside  his  own.  The 
ball  was  opened  by  the  resident  with  the 
sultana,  having  for  his  vis-a-vis  the  sul- 
tan, upon  whose  brown  palm  rested  the 


A    TOUR  IN  THE    CHINA   SEAS. 


I8i 


white  glove  of  the  Hollander's  fair-hair- 
ed dame.  At  supper  there  were  two 
tables  precisely  alike,  at  one  of  which 
the  host  presided,  at  the  other  his  illus- 


trious guest — an  arrangement  intended 
to  waive  the  solution  of  the  very  difficult 
enigma  as  to  which  of  these  illustrious 
potentates  was   entitled   to  precedence. 


THE    TAOU-lAl    UK    SHANGHAI    PRESENTING    Hlb    UAUGIIIEK     iu    UIE    (JEFICERS    OF    THE 

BAYONNAISE. 


The  rajah  is  a  handsome  specimen  of 
his  race,  a  well-preserved,  rather  intel- 
lectual man  of  sixty,  with  a  fund  of  dry 
humor  and  an  eager  zest  for  novelty  and 


excitement.  His  dress,  when  we  saw 
him,  was  ordinarily  a  dark  silk  sarang, 
with  a  jacket  of  blue  or  green  velvet 
richly  embroidered,  and  confined  at  the 


lS2 


A    TOUR   IN   THE    CHINA    SEAS. 


waist  by  a  jeweled  girdle,  with  a  silken 
turban  of  vast  dimensions  profusely  stud- 
ded with  glittering  gems. 

From  the  Moluccas  we  steered  direct 
for  the  China  coast,  leaving  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  to  be  visited  on  our  return. 
Our  first  stopping-place  was  Macao,  the 
approach  to  which  is  exceedingly  pic- 
turesque, the  white  houses  outspread  be- 
tween green  hills,  and  presenting  in  front 
a  long  line  of  tasteful  dwellings  over- 
looking a  lovely  bay.  The  heights  are 
crowned  with  the  spires  and  turrets  of 
churches  and  convents,  and  the  city  is 
flanked  by  two  forts  on  the  plain,  while 
on  the  central  mount,  which  is  steep  and 
towering,  stands  the  Monte.  This  is  the 
largest  of  the  fortifications,  mounting 
forty-seven  guns,  and  commanding  not 
only  the  harbor,  but  the  little  cove  of 
Macao  and  the  encircling  Praya  Grande, 
with  the  principal  buildings  that  occupy 
the  plains  between  these  heights.  The 
Portuguese,  like  the  Spaniards,  have  the 
art  of  clothing  their  buildings  and  cities 
with  an  air  of  antiquity ;  and  Macao, 
with  its  narrow  streets  and  the  quaint 
architecture  of  its  public  edifices,  looks 
venerably  ancient.  The  city  contains 
about  thirty  thousand  Chinese,  with  a 
drifting  European  population  of  from 
six  to  ten  thousand,  but  its  government, 
religion  and  customs  are  essentially  Por- 
tuguese. A  stranger  will  find  many  ob- 
jects of  interest  in  this  quaint  old  city. 
Among  the  first  that  attracted  us  was 
the  Cave  of  Camoens,  the  lovely  grotto 
wherein  the  exiled  poet  of  Lusitania 
courted  his  muse,  and  sang  the  praises 
of  the  first  bold  hero  who  doubled  the 
"Cape  of  Storms,"  thus  opening  to  the 
Western  World  the  princely  treasures  of 
India.  The  cave  is  in  the  Casa  Gardens, 
and  the  mansion  beneath  which  one  has 
to  pass  to  the  garden  and  grotto  is  held 
by  a  Portuguese  family  of  distinction, 
with  the  proviso  that  strangers  shall  be 
freely  admitted  at  all  times.  The  pas- 
sage through  the  basement  conducts  to 
a  large  enclosure  and  a  hill  having  its 
base  laid  off  in  terraces,  all  planted  with 
shrubbery.  From  the  terraces  upward 
are  steep  pathways  winding  through  the 
jungle-growth  of  the  hillside,  and  by  one 


of  these  the  cave  is  entered.  There  were 
formerly,  we  were  told,  a  tablet  and 
white-coated  bust  of  the  poet  placed  in 
the  natural  niche  where  he  loved  to  sit 
and  muse,  but  the  bust  we  could  find  no 
traces  of,  and  the  existing  tablet  is  one 
of  a  date  too  recent  ever  to  have  been 
seen  by  the  ill-fated  poet,  while  its  in- 
scription is  in  French.  The  author  we 
were  unable  to  ascertain.  Even  more 
interesting  than  the  cave  is  the  little  ob- 
servatory on  the  farther  brow  of  the  hill, 
whence  may  be  seen  the  Temple  of  the 
Queen  of  Heaven  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  the  Halfway  Pagoda  lying  midway 
between  Canton  and  Whampoa,  Casa 
Bianca  far  up  the  harbor,  innumerable 
Chinese  junks  and  flower-boats,  with  the 
clustering  hamlets  along  the  shore,  and 
off  in  the  distance  Priests'  Island,  occu- 
pied, so  say  the  Chinese,  exclusively  by 
Booddhist  priests,  without  either  woman 
or  child  to  mar  its  sacred  shades.  What 
a  delectable  time  those  seven  thousand 
men  must  have  !  The  flower-boats,  as  I 
learned  afterward,  are  a  peculiar  insti- 
tution of  the  Chinese,  especially  in  the 
vicinity  of  Canton.  Their  exterior,  the 
only  part  I  saw,  is  adorned  with  wreaths 
and  garlands  of  fresh  flowers  mingled 
with  pretty  arabesques.  The  interior 
was  described  to  me  as  the  very  abode 
of  sensual  luxury,  furnished  with  silk 
hangings,  gayly- colored  lanterns,  mir- 
rors, pictures  and  lounges  fit  to  adorn 
the  palace  of  a  queen :  their  use  is  that 
of  theatres  for  the  most  debasing  plays, 
amorous  concerts  and  sensual  pleasures 
of  the  lowest  grade. 

One  day  of  our  stay  at  Macao  was 
given  to  the  exploration  of  Mr.  Beale's 
botanical  garden,  with  its  manifold  trea- 
sures of  plants  native  and  foreign,  his 
aviaries  and  aquariums.  Among  the 
flowers  were  some  choice  varieties  of  the 
pink  and  white  lotus  {Nymphea  nehimbo), 
so  cherished  by  the  Chinese  in  connec- 
tion with  their  religious  rites,  and  care- 
fully cultivated  in  every  Chinese  temple. 
Scarlet  asclepias  mingled  their  brilliant 
blooms  with  variegated  bignonias  and 
real  Oriental  daflbdils,  while  a  dozen  or 
more  charming  varieties  of  tropical  lilies 
shed  their  sweet  perfume,  and  all  along 


A    TOUR   IN  THE   CHINA   SEAS. 


183 


the  trellis -work  between  orange  and 
almond  trees  clambered  vines  of  the 
winged  passion-flower  and  bride -like 
moon -creeper   with  its   scented   waxen 


blooms,  twining  and  interlacing  their 
graceful  foliage  in  lofty  festoons  or  trail- 
ing like  huge  floral  serpents  along  the 
ground.     Chinese  lanterns  of  pale  blue 


A    LUUK-llGHT    IN    A    STREET    IN    MANILLA. 


and  rose-colored  silk  hung  everywhere, 
and  when  lighted  up  at  night  a  sort  of 
luminous  haze  that  seemed  transcend- 
ently  lovely  enveloped  everj-  object  be- 
longing to  this  magic  scene.     Some  of 


the  aquariums  contained  queer-looking 
monsters  in  the  way  of  flying-fish,  sea- 
crabs  and  star-fish  that  could  live  only 
in  salt  water,  while  in  others  sported 
myriads  of  gold  and  silver  fish  of  several 


1 84 


A    TOUR   IN   THE   CHINA   SEAS. 


varieties.  But  most  charming  of  all  the 
treasures  these  beautiful  gardens  contain 
are  the  aviaries,  in  looking  at  which  the 
visitor  forgets  everything  else.  One  of 
them,  in  the  rear  of  the  dwelling,  is  forty 
feet  long,  some  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  of 
sufficient  height  to  accommodate  two 
large  trees  and  some  good-sized  rocks. 
Here  the  birds  find  ample  room  to  ex- 
ercise, build  nests  and  rear  their  young, 
as  freely  as  in  their  native  woods ;  for, 
walls  and  roof  being  of  fine  wire,  neith- 
er air  nor  sunshine  is  obstructed,  while 
grass  and  shrubbery  thrive  as  well  with- 
in as  without  the  pavilion.  A  large  pool 
in  the  centre  furnishes  the  aquatic  birds 
with  a  sporting-place  that  they  evident- 
ly enjoy.  The  immense  family,  com- 
posed of  birds  from  so  many  climes  and 
of  habits  so  diverse,  dwell  together  in 
perfect  harmony  under  their  spacious 
canopy.  And  how  wondrously  gay  they 
looked  in  their  many-tinted  plumage ! 
Gold  and  silver  pheasants,  graceful  as 
lovely  ;  pink-nosed  Java  sparrows,  prim 
and  prudish  ;  flaunting  cockatoos,  paro- 
quets, adjutants  and  macaws ;  English 
nightingales,  peerless  in  song  as  demure 
in  color ;  exquisite  mandarin  ducks,  only 
four  inches  long  from  the  point  of  their 
crimson  beaks  to  the  tip  of  their  parti- 
colored tails ;  and  scores  of  others  that  I 
cannot  even  name  rendered  the  air  vo- 
cal with  their  songs.  Rarest  of  all  was 
a  specimen  of  the  bird-of-paradise  of  the 
species  known  as  the  Paradisea  apoda, 
distinguished  by  its  brightly-tinted  curv- 
ing- fillets  of  some  fourteen  inches  in 
length  springing  from  beneath  the  wings. 
This  bird  has  been  in  Mr.  Beale's  pos- 
session twenty  years,  and  was  the  only 
one  he  had  ever  known  tamed  or  kept 
in  confinement  without  dying  in  a  few 
months. 

Adjoining  the  Casa  Garden  is  the  Eu- 
ropean cemetery,  and  near  by  is  the  Gate 
of  St.  Anthony  and  a  stone  cross  that 
commemorates  a  miracle.  This  was  no 
less  an  affair  (so  said  my  Portuguese 
guide)  than  the  descent  of  the  saint  from 
heaven  when  Macao  was  attacked  by  the 
Dutch  in  1622,  and  miraculously  saved  to 
its  Portuguese  owners.  There  are  thou- 
sands of  good  citizens  in  Macao  who  be- 


lieve this  wonderful  story;  and  the  cross 
was  erected  in  grateful  recognition  of  the 
services  of  their  patron  saint,  who  was  at 
the  same  time  elected  colonel  of  the  Ma- 
cao regiment,  the  pay  and  rations  accru- 
ing therefrom  being  duly  collected  by  his 
faithful  stewards  the  priests  of  St.  An- 
thony's church. 

It  was  on  the  outskirts  of  this  usually 
quiet  city  that  Captain  Amaral,  the  Por- 
tuguese governor  of  Macao,  was  atro- 
ciously murdered  by  Chinese  ruffians  in 
1849.  Though  his  rare  energy  and  fix- 
edness of  purpose,  coupled  with  extra- 
ordinary diplomatic  ability,  enabled  him, 
without  money  or  ships  at  command  and 
with  but  a  handful  of  soldiers,  to  save  the 
city  confided  to  his  keeping  from  deser- 
tion and  utter  ruin,  his  intrepidity  cost 
him  his  life.  Captain  Amaral's  refusal 
to  yield  to  the  unjust  requisitions  of  the 
Chinese  local  authorities,  and  his  stern 
integrity  to  his  own  government,  had, 
very  soon  after  his  appointment,  won  for 
him  the  bitter  animosity  of  the  viceroy 
and  mandarins  of  Canton,  where  for 
weeks  previous  to  his  murder  placards 
had  been  posted  offering  a  reward  of 
five  thousand  dollars  for  his  head — cer- 
tainly with  the  knowledge,  if  not  the  con- 
nivance, of  the  viceroy.  But  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  dissatisfaction  was  the 
closing  by  the  Portuguese  governor  of 
the  Chinese  custom-house  at  Macao,  and 
his  subsequent  order  for  the  removal  of 
several  Chinese  tombs  to  make  way  for 
a  new  city  road.  Though  duly  informed 
by  his  friends  of  the  threats  of  vengeance 
these  innovations  had  invoked,  and  urged 
not  to  venture  abroad  alone  and  unarm- 
ed, he  only  smiled  at  what  he  deemed 
groundless  apprehensions,  and  continued 
his  walks  and  rides  as  before.  Shortly 
before  sunset  on  the  22d  of  August,  when 
he  was  returning  to  his  residence  after 
his  usual  ride,  attended  by  a  single  aid, 
several  Chinamen  surrounded  the  two 
horsemen,  and  while  a  lad,  holding  in 
his  hands  a  long  bamboo  to  which  was 
tied  a  bouquet,  approached  the  governor, 
as  if  to  present  the  flowers,  one  of  the 
ruffians  struck  him  a  blow  in  the  face. 
As  he  reeled  in  the  saddle  six  armed 
men  joined  in  the  attack.     They  soon 


A    TOUR   IN   THE    CHINA   SEAS. 


iS: 


unhorsed  the  governor  and  despatched 
him,  the  aid  escaping,  though  badly 
wounded.  The  miscreants,  after  cutting 
off  the  head  and  one  hand  of  their  vic- 
tim, fled,  carrying  with  them  their  bloody 


trophies,  and  were  suffered  by  the  Chinese 
guards  to  make  good  their  escape  through 
the  gates  without  challenge.  The  news 
soon  flew  through  the  settlement,  being 
received  by  the  natives  with  exultation, 


by  the  foreigners  with  horror  and  indig- 
nation. Satisfaction  was  demanded  of 
the  viceroy,  who  at  first  carelessly  de- 
clined interference ;  and  many  curious 
developments  of  a  Celestial's  ideas  of 


justice  were  brought  to  view  in  the  com- 
plications that  followed  ere  the  final  ad- 
justment by  recourse  to  arms. 

Formosa,  called  by  the  Chinese  Tei- 
Wan,  is  the  granary  of  China,  and  one 


i86 


A    TO  UK   IN   THE    CHI  A' A    SEAS. 


of  the  most  fertile  spots  in  the  world. 
The  rice-plantations  are  extensive  and 
extremely  prolific — miles  upon  miles  of 
flooded  fields  and  waving  paddy,  till  the 
traveler's  eye  wearies  of  the  monotony. 
The  scenery  of  Hiang-Chau,  another  rice- 
island  visited  eti  roitte  to  Hong-Kong,  is 
charmingly  picturesque,  the  fields  being 
laid  off  in  terraces,  and  watered  by  in- 
numerable small  streams,  which  are  con- 
veyed by  ingenious  contrivances  to  every 
section  ;  and  above  all  waved  the  slender 
graceful  stalks  loaded  with  the  ripening 
grain.  The  cultivation  of  the  rice  crop 
is  carried  on  everywhere  with  the  same 
primitive  plough  drawn  by  buffaloes, 
with  crowds  of  patient,  much-enduring 
women,  ankle-deep  in  water  from  morn 
till  night,  sowing  the  seed,  removing  and 
resetting  the  plants ;  and  when  the  crop 
is  ready  to  be  gathered  the  women  still 
are  those  who  bear  the  chief  burden  of 
onerous  duty.  Hence  the  Chinese  ax- 
iom :  "The  gods  give  to  the  cultivator 
two  unfailing  helpers — women  and  buf- 
faloes ;  and  if  either  be  wanting  the 
harvest  fails  also." 

Both  at  Canton  and  Hong-Kong — in- 
deed, everywhere  in  China — a  stranger 
will  be  attracted  by  the  unique  appear- 
ance of  the  Chinese  shops.  During 
the  day  they  are  thrown  entirely  open 
in  front,  with  the  wares  tastefully  ar- 
ranged on  the  other  three  sides  of  the 
apartment,  a  small  stairway  in  one  cor- 
ner leading  to  the  upper  or  dwelling  por- 
tion of  the  house.  These  shops  are  very 
models  of  neatness,  some  of  them  con- 
taining a  varied  assortment  of  costly 
wares,  and  occasionally  works  of  art ; 
while  the  owners,  with  their  long  queues 
and  costly  silken  garments,  sit  in  their 
places  of  business  like  princes  in  their 
drawing-rooms,  exhibiting  a  quiet  dig- 
nity, and  even  courtliness,  strangely  un- 
like the  manners  of  the  races  about 
them.  Every  line  of  merchandise  is  duly 
represented  —  silks,  teas,  fancy  goods, 
lacquered  wares,  jewelry,  plate,  time- 
pieces, books,  musical  instruments,  birds' 
nests,  confections,  drugs  :  ever\^thing  that 
can  be  called  for,  native  and  foreign,  is 
now  obtainable  in  the  large  cities  on  the 
coast,  so  rapid  has  been  the  improve- 


ment in  the  last  twenty  years.  But  the 
ushering  in  of  the  new  epoch  has  not 
entirely  banished  the  old,  as  witness  the 
stores  where  gods  are  made  and  sold  for 
silver  dollars  !  Ay,  and  "  warranted  "  too 
— a  god  of  wealth  "sure  to  makee  glow 
liche,"  says  the  polite  vender;  gods  of 
fair  weather  and  guardians  of  health ; 
gods  for  the  sailor  and  for  the  farmer — 
for  every  condition  of  life,  every  emer- 
gency, and  at  all  prices.  Among  the 
most  attractive  of  the  shops  are  the 
fruit-  and  flower-stalls,  usually  adorned 
with  pretty  bird-cages,  while  John  China- 
man deals  out  his  dainty  wares,  served 
in  exquisite  porcelain  or  glass,  with  lav- 
ishing salaams  and  courtly  words.  Few 
visitors  at  Canton  will  fail  to  recall  the 
shop  of  the  venerable  Sao  Qua  on  Old 
China  street,  or  the  gentle  breeding  of 
the  accommodating  owner  with  his  frost- 
ed hair  and  long  wadded  gown  of  dark 
silk.  Huge  silken  lanterns  hung  at  the 
entrance,  and  at  the  upper  end  was  the 
inevitable  altar,  never  wanting  in  either 
dwelling  or  place  of  business,  on  which 
fresh  offerings  of  tea,  cakes  and  fruit 
were  laid  every  morning,  and  incense 
burned  perpetually.  The  old  man  said 
the  fire  had  never  once  gone  out  since 
the  days  of  his  grandfather,  who  built 
and  furnished  the  house,  to  which  Sao 
Qua  had  duly  succeeded,  and  which  his 
son  would  inherit  after  him.  Said  son  was 
a  frolicsome  little  five-year-old,  exuberant 
with  boisterous  mirth,  the  child  of  Sao 
Oua's  old  age  and  his  inseparable  com- 
panion. It  was  beautiful  to  see  them 
thus  together,  the  weary  old  man  seem- 
ing to  grow  young  again  in  loving  con- 
templation of  the  child's  merry  pranks; 
and  the  little  one  always  tendei  and 
gentle  when  he  approached  the  doating 
sire,  whose  years  and  infirmities  were  an 
enigma  his  fresh  young  nature  sought  in 
vain  to  comprehend. 

At  Shanghai,  the  regular  communica- 
tion by  mail  and  telegraph,  the  constant 
meeting  with  travelers  from  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  the  frequent  association 
in  daily  life  with  his  compatriots,  render 
it  difficult  for  a  European  to  realize  that 
he  is  in  China  at  all ;  that  is,  in  the  for- 
eign quarter  of  the  city,  but  the  native 


A    TOUR   IN  THE    CHINA    SEAS. 


187 


section  is  sufficiently  Oriental  in  build- 
ings, costume  and  customs  to  dispel  the 
illusion.  Shanghai  is  a  busy,  bustling, 
thriving  business-mart,  but  is  not  attract- 
ive as  a  residence.     The  taou-tai,  the 


highest  municipal  officer  of  Shanghai,  is 
a  mandarin  of  the  third  order.  The  post 
was  held  at  the  time  of  our  visit  by  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  liberal  policy, 
who    acknowledged   the    superiority  of 


Western  civilization,  and  used  the  in- 
fluence of  his  position  for  the  advance- 
ment of  his  people  in  useful  knowledge 
and  arts.  He  had  a  lovely  daughter  of 
whom  he  was  very  proud,  and  whom  he 


took  great  delight  in  introducing  to  dis- 
tinguished foreigners.  Admiral  de  la 
Graviere  mentions  her  and  her  presen- 
tation to  the  officers  of  the  Bayonnaise, 
and  remarks  on  the  fact  of  her  feet  be- 


iSS 


A    TOUR   IN  THE    CHINA    SEAS. 


ing  impressed  —  a  point  to  which  the 
taou-tai  called  their  attention.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  while  the  Tartars  after 
their  conquest  forced  upon  the  Chinese 
the  Manchoo  style  of  hair-dressing,  they 
themselves  have  in  very  few  instances 
adopted  for  their  daughters  the  barbar- 
ous Chinese  custom  of  compressing  the 
feet.  Hence,  with  the  members  of  the 
imperial  family,  and  indeed  with  all 
high-born  Tartar  ladies,  the  feet  are 
suffered  to  retain  their  normal  condition. 

We  took  Japan  on  our  return,  and 
then  the  Philippine  group,  spending  two- 
thirds  of  a  month  in  cruising  among 
these  fairy  islands,  making  occasional 
excursions  into  the  interior,  and  study- 
ing the  habits  and  pastimes  of  Manilla, 
the  metropolis  as  well  as  the  chief  ship- 
ping-port of  the  Philippines.  From  the 
great  area  of  this  group,  stretching  from 
the  ninth  to  the  eighteenth  degree  of 
north  latitude,  the  climate  exhibits  a  far 
greater  variety  than  can  be  found  in 
most  tropical  islands ;  while  the  soil  has 
an  equally  diversified  character,  being 
in  some  localities  of  primitive  formation, 
abounding  in  metallic  ores,  and  in  others 
volcanic,  with  a  wondrous  degree  of  fe- 
cundity. The  scenery  is  varied  and  pic- 
turesque, and  the  geographical  position 
of  this  lovely  archipelago  cannot  fail  to 
strike  the  tourist  as  being  singularly  fe- 
licitous. Situated  close  to  the  coast  of 
China,  with  which  it  has  an  extensive 
trade,  in  convenient  proximity  to  the 
thriving  empire  of  Japan,  connected  by 
an  unbroken  chain  with  all  the  islands 
to  the  south  and  west  for  thousands  of 
miles,  and  lying  in  the  direct  route  be- 
tween the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  it  af- 
fords a  convenient  stopping -place  for 
large  numbers  of  vessels,  especially  on 
the  outward  passage. 

Spain  has  for  centuries  guarded  with 
jealous  care  this  fairest  of  all  her  Eastern 
colonies,  and  seeking  to  bind  more  firm- 
ly about  her  brow  so  regal  a  coronet  of 
ocean  gems,  vigorous  efforts  were  made 
from  the  first  not  only  to  convert  the 
people  to  the  Catholic  faith,  but  so  to 
inculcate  Spanish  habits  and  tastes  that 
the  presence  of  the  conquerors  should 
become  essential  to  the  conquered.     A 


very  large  proportion  of  the  present  in- 
habitants are,  at  least  nominally.  Chris- 
tians, and  the  incorporation  of  Spanish 
dignity  and  intelligence  with  native  ar- 
dor and  vivacity  has  produced  a  race 
the  most  high-toned,  bold  and  energetic 
of  all  the  tribes  of  the  Asiatic  archipela- 
goes. The  Philippine  gentleman  canies 
himself  with  true  Spanish  hauteur,  while 
his  very  sports  betray  a  mingling  of  the 
tastes  of  Old  Spain  with  the  native  indo- 
lence and  grace  of  this  voluptuous  clime. 
But  in  lieu  of  bull-baiting  the  Philippine 
Islander  solaces  himself  with  cock-fig-hts, 
into  which  he  enters  with  real  gusto,  and 
one  must  be  an  eye-witness  of  a  Manilla 
spurring-match  to  conceive,  even  faintly, 
the  excitement  of  such  a  scene.  The 
ordinarily  placid,  indolent  native  forgets, 
with  the  debut  of  his  favorite  game-fowl, 
all  his  constitutional  sluggishness,  phys- 
ical and  mental :  his  eyes  gleam  like 
those  of  a  fiery  serpent,  his  slight  figure 
dilates  with  intense  excitement,  and  a 
nervous  tremor  is  apparent  in  every  mo- 
tion. For  the  time,  that  gay-colored  lit- 
tle bird  which  for  weeks  or  months  he 
has  been  carefully  training  for  the  con- 
flict, and  which  he  holds  now  so  love- 
ingly  between  his  arms,  is  all  the  world 
to  him — his  solitar}^  investment  for  future 
fame  and  fortune — the  single  die  upon 
which  he  would  not  hesitate  to  stake  his 
entire  family,  or  even  his  own  life.  And 
the  bystanders,  of  whom  there  is  always 
a  crowd,  are  scarcely  less  interested. 
With  each  successive  trial  of  skill  be- 
tween the  combatants  the  excitement 
waxes  more  intense,  betting  grows  bold- 
er, and  the  motley  gang  become  almost 
frenzied  in  their  curiosity  as  to  the  re- 
sult. These  cock-fights  and  the  cere- 
monials of  his  religion  are  the  only  oc- 
casions when  a  Philippine  Islander  for- 
gets to  be  nonchalant  and  dignified  ;  but 
these,  by  their  very  excess  of  ardor, 
make  up  for  the  lack  of  all  others.  Not 
only  is  the  penchant  for  such  games 
traceable  directly  to  Spanish  influence, 
but  the  local  authorities  boast  of  deriv- 
ing a  considerable  revenue  from  the 
taxes  levied  upon  them. 

Desiring  to  get  some  glimpses  of  the 
aboriginal  life  where  it  was  least  tram- 


A    TOUR   IX   THE    CHIXA    SEAS. 


189 


meled  by  foreign  influence,  we  arranged 
a  visit  to  the  great  island  of  Luconia, 
governed  in  part  by  a  native  rajah,  and 
peopled  by  nearly  two  millions  of  souls. 


Starting  two  hours  before  sunset  in  a 
native  budgeroiv  pulled  by  half  a  dozen 
oarsmen,  we  reached  the  island  by  day- 
light, and  having  breakfasted  on  rice  and 


SERVANTS  OF  DOCTOR  BURGER  AT  BATA\ lA. 


shellfish  curry  with  a  party  at  a  little  fish- 
ing-village on  the  coast,  we  set  forth  in 
search  of  adventures.  Our  conveyance 
was  a  primitive  one — a  sort  of  caleche 
drawn  by  oxen,  sure-footed,  trusty  beasts. 


but  indolent  and  slow  like  all  their  sur- 
roundings :  the  very  rivulets  seem  to  flow 
sluggishly,  and  the  grand,  beautiful  river, 
that  fertilizes  some  of  the  loveliest  vales 
and  meadows  in  the  world,  forces  its  way 


I  go 


A    TOUR   IiV  THE   CHINA    SEAS. 


over  shelving  rocks  in  a  noiseless  cata- 
ract, as  if  under  protest.  Our  road  lay 
between  long  lines  of  palma  christi  and 
guava  trees  laden  with  fruit  and  foliage, 
while  the  hedges  were  lined  with  the 
ever-blooming  melastroma,  fragrant  and 
fair  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  spouse. 
Here  and  there  a  bamboo  hut  or  rural 
cottage  proclaimed  the  presence  of  the 
wood-cutter  or  farmer,  and  women  and 
girls  flitted  about  in  dainty  and  singular- 
ly seductive  garb,  that  displayed  the  sym- 
metry of  voluptuous  forms  even  more 
perfectly  than  an  undress  could  do.  Yet, 
withal,  there  was  evident  modesty,  even 
coyness,  that  forbade  all  thoughts  of  un- 
due familiarity.  From  the  widespread 
doors  of  the  cottages  we  saw  constantly 
such  scenes  as  the  illustration  portrays 
— a  young  mother,  with  the  careless 
abandon  of  conscious  innocence,  spend- 
ing the  sultry  hours  of  midday  in  her 
swinging  hammock  watching  the  gam- 
bols of  her  offspring — the  little  ones,  as 
well  as  the  mother,  very  prodigies  of 
grace  and  buoyant  health. 

At  the  charming  little  village  of  Taal, 
the  most  populous  and  thrifty  of  the  Lu- 
conian  settlements,  we  saw  for  the  first 
time  the  tiny  looms  in  which  are  woven 
the  exquisite  pineapple  scarfs  and  hand- 
kerchiefs so  famous  for  their  delicate 
texture.  The  modus  operandi  seemed 
very  simple.  The  fibre  of  the  tuft  of 
leaves  at  the  top  of  the  fruit  is  stripped 
out,  cleaned,  carded  and  spun  by  hand 
— the  best  to  exceeding  fineness.  The 
looms  are  quaint  little  affairs  of  novel 
construction,  and  both  hands  and  feet 
are  used  in  operating  them.  The  ex- 
quisite embroidery  is  all  the  work  of 
vie7i,  whose  pliant  fingers  are  never  suf- 
fered to  be  stiffened  by  rough  labor. 
These  scarfs  and  handkerchiefs  can  be 
purchased  only  at  Manilla ;  and  so  great 
is  the  demand  that  they  are  usually  sold 
three  or  four  years  in  advance  of  their 
manufacture.  At  Gassig,  a  village  of 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  there  is  a 
brisk  trade  with  Manilla  in  the  products 
of  the  islands — gold,  sugar,  sapan-wood, 
ebony,  indigo,  coffee,  sulphur,  cotton, 
cordage,  mother-of-pearl  shells,  tortoise- 
shell  and  many  minor  articles — but  the 


native  traders  ship  nothing  direct  lo  jiu- 
rope.  All  passes  through  the  hands  of 
foreign  merchants,  mainly  those  of  Ma- 
nilla, and  the  revenues  are  immense. 

Taking  a  reluctant  leave  of  this  peace- 
ful Arcadia,  its  flowery  vales  and  simple- 
hearted  people,  we  continued  our  route  to 
Calcutta,  touching  at  Batavia,  the  quaint 
old  city  described  in  a  former  number 
of  this  Magazine.  An  old  friend,  a 
wealthy  Hollander,  offered  the  hospital- 
ities of  his  house  during  the  few  days 
we  were  to  remain,  and  at  evening  we 
were  driven  in  pony  palanquins  to  his 
elegant  mansion  in  the  "new  city."  Em- 
bowered in  palms  and  orange  trees,  with 
its  spacious  balcony  supported  by  mar- 
ble columns  and  its  sumptuous  appoint- 
ments inviting  to  luxurious  repose,  it 
seemed  a  very  paradise  —  meet  abode 
for  the  fair-haired  wife  and  blooming 
young  daughters  who  welcomed  us  so 
kindly.  We  dined  the  next  day  at  the 
mansion  of  Dr.  Burger,  and  spent  some 
agreeable  hours  among  the  wonders  of 
his  gardens  and  green-houses,  filled  with 
all  manner  of  floral  beauty  and  fragrance. 
Flowers  and  birds  were  the  doctor's 
grande  passion,  and  both  were  carefully 
tended  by  the  numerous  retinue  of  fe- 
male servants,  whose  position  in  that 
abode  of  affluence  was  a  mere  sinecure  : 
their  wants  being  amply  supplied,  they 
had  little  to  do  besides  waiting  on  their 
own  husbands  and  children. 

Dr.  Burger  used  to  be  one  of  the  nota- 
bilities of  Batavia,  and  a  general  favorite 
among  his  friends.  A  man  of  liberal 
education,  large  fortune  and  many  ec- 
centricities, he  led  an  easy,  idle  life 
among  his  books  and  flowers,  devoting 
his  abundant  leisure  to  the  indulgence 
of  his  own  refined  tastes,  his  money  to 
the  relief  of  suffering  wherever  he  found 
it,  and  his  genial  good-humor  to  the  in- 
creased happiness  of  every  living  thing 
within  his  reach.  His  abode  furnished 
a  fair  type  of  the  multitude  of  elegant 
bachelor  establishments  that  abound  in 
all  the  European  settlements  of  the  East 
— abundantly  provided  with  all  manner 
of  delights,  and  their  hospitable  doors  ever 
open  to  the  tourist  and  the  stranger. 
Fannie  R.  Feudge. 


IN  A  CARAVAiV  WITH  GEROME  THE   PAINTER. 


191 


IN    A   CARAVAN   WITH    GEROME   THE    PAINTER. 


PART    FIRST. 


THE  caravan  took  a  route  that  was      of  such  choice  spirits,  and  the  aspect  of 
not  very  new,  but  it  was  made  up      things  became  so  novel  from  their  fresh 


and  unconventional  point  of  view,  that 
the  spectacle  of  Eg^^pt  was  in  a  measure 
transfigured,  and  took  on  changes  as  of 


a  familiar  garment  worn  inside  out 
Gerome,  the  leader,  was  at  home  in  Cai 
ro.     The  little  band  chose  for  him  the 


192 


IN  A    CARA  VAN   WITH  G&ROME    THE   PAINTER. 


title  of  Colonel ;  which  must  be  pro- 
nounced trisyllabically,  Co-lo-nel,  or  it 
will  acquire  an  American,  militia-train- 
ing, stand-up-for-a-drink  sort  of  flavor, 
as  far  as  possible  from  the  humor  in 
which  it  was  conferred.  Readers  of 
these  pages  who  have  admired  those 
dramatic  compositions  of  his,  those  tell- 
ing anecdotes  expressed  in  color,  those 
epigrams  of  antique  nisiory  which  con- 
stitute Gerome  the  Plutarch  of  painters 
— and  more  especially  his  "  Cleopatra," 
the  cunning  ivory  woman, 

■ traced  about  by  jewels  which  outline, 

Fire-frame,  and  keep  distinct  perfections,  lest  they 
melt 

To  soft  smooth  unity  ere  half  their  hold  be  felt; 

Yet,  o'er  that  white  and  wonder,  a  Soul's  predom- 
inance 

I'  the  head  so  high  and  haught,  except  one  thievish 
glance 

From  back  of  oblong  eye,  intent  to  count  the  slain, 

— may  be  glad  of  a  personal  introduction, 
which,  however,  shall  be  shorter  than  a 
formula  of  Sir  Charles  Grandison's.  The 
painter  of  "  Cleopatra  "  and  "  The  Death 
of  Caesar  "  is  a  dark,  energetic  man,  with 
quick  black  eyes  set  under  a  very  broad 
forehead,  and  a  triangular,  top-shaped 
face,  whose  apex,  the  chin,  is  shadowed 
by  an  arching  moustache.  With  his 
alert  motions,  his  height  and  weight  kept 
serviceably  at  a  medium,  his  taste  in 
dress  plain  and  business  -  like,  and  a 
directness  of  manner  so  absolute  that 
trifling  with  him  is  out  of  the  question, 
Gerome  is  a  man  whom  you  would  call 
a  grave  person  even  when  he  laughs ; 
but  his  sincerity,  his  reasonableness  and 
mental  superiority  make  him  the  best  of 
traveling -companions.  Only,  whereas 
the  others  are  going  to  Egypt  in  an  ex- 
alted spirit  of  larking,  the  pencil-Plutarch 
is  descending  upon  the  land  of  Pharaoh 
with  as  fell  a  purpose  as  ever  sent  a 
Highland  chieftain  raiding  upon  the  Low- 
lands :  his  artistic  larder  needs  replen- 
ishing, and  he  is  going  after  his  milch 
cow. 

This  expedition  was  so  far  a  crisis  with 
Gerome  that  he  went  out  a  black-haired 
man  and  returned  perfectly  gray.  There 
is  something  memorable  in  the  particular 
action  that  at  once  distinctly  deprives 
one  of  one's  youth  :  it  is  like  a  vigil  of 


arms,  where  a  young  knight  leaves  his 
sable  locks  upon  the  altar. 

All  Europeans  in  Cairo  behave  pre- 
cisely alike :  the  mysterious  Eastern 
'  charm  runs  away  with  all  of  them  to- 
;  gether.  Our  Parisians,  installed  in  the 
house  of  a  rich  French  cook  evteritus, 
had  hardly  disposed  of  their  first  grand 
nine-course  dinner  when  they  retired  to 
dream,  one  and  all,  of  the  same  plan. 
"For  my  part,  I  know  very  well  what  I 
am  going  to  do,"  said  each  to  himself  as 
he  buttoned  the  mosquito-net  of  his  own 
particular  bed.  "  I  shall  get  up  at  four 
o'clock,  take  a  donkey  and  seek  adven- 
tures until  breakfast-time."  And  so  ac- 
curately was  every  traveler  bitten  by  the 
same  maggot  in  the  same  place  that  they 
all  had  the  pleasure  of  finding  them- 
selves together,  each  on  a  donkey,  a  little 
before  sunrise. 

The  ex-cook's  mansion  forming  almost 
the  corner  of  the  great  native  street  of 
Cairo,  the  Muskee,  the  first  tableau  was 
naturally  afforded  by  that  finest  of  Cai- 
rene  boulevards.  The  Muskee,  with  its 
shops  and  coffee-houses,  is  an  Orient  in 
itself,  and  he  would  be  a  stupid  braggart 
who,  after  living  in  it  for  three  years, 
should  pretend  to  have  seen  all  its  in- 
teresting features.  At  the  extremity  of 
the  Muskee  a  broad  covered  footway 
separates  into  two  the  quarter  where  the 
bazaars  are  grouped  :  turning  to  the  left, 
the  bazaar  of  the  jewelers  is  reached ;  to 
the  right  are  the  carpets  and  raiment, 
the  slippers,  harness  and  saddles.  The 
first  duty  of  inexperienced  travelers  is  to 
load  themselves  down  with  cumbrous 
articles  of  purchase.  Our  caravan  did 
not  fail  at  the  present  emergency,  and 
Saint  Eloi  himself  could  hardly  have 
kept  count  of  the  bracelets,  the  neck- 
laces, the  daggers  and  pistols,  made  very 
probably  in  Brussels,  which  the  ardent 
Orientalists  swept  into  their  carpet-bags. 
The  carved  woodwork  on  the  coffers  and 
street-signs  of  the  merchants  attracted 
the  admiration  of  every  artist  in  the 
group,  while  the  Persian  rugs  (many  of 
which  are  sold  in  Cairo)  seemed  to  them 
adorable  enough  for  an  artist  to  say  his 
prayers  upon,  especially  those  with  fan- 
tastic figures   on   white  grounds.     The 


IN  A    CAR  A  VAN   WITH  G  A  ROME    THE  PAINTER. 


"^91 


simple  jewels  prepared  for  the  Fellah 
women  were  objects  of  eager  research; 
partly  on  account  of  their  broad  statu- 
esque styles  and  partly  on  account  of  the 


singular  manner  of  paying  for  them.  In 
one  dish  of  the  scales  is  placed  your 
chosen  lot  of  trinkets,  in  the  other  your 
gold,  and   the   equilibrium    of   the  two 


FATMA.       (by   J.    L.    GfeROME.) 


forms  the  payment :  in  this  sort  of  jew- 
elry the  workmanship  is  valued  at  noth- 
ing at  all. 

One  of  the  party  had  the  fortune  to 
stumble  on  a  pair  of  ancient  bracelets 
13 


remarkable  for  their  exquisite  chasing: 
they  were  received  afterward  in  France, 
in  circles  of  taste,  with  open  arms — even 
by  those  beauties  whose  rounded  wrists 
were  seemingly  too  slender  to  support 


194 


IN  A    CAR  A  VAN   WITH  GAROME    THE   PAINTER. 


the  weight  of  forty  centuries  of  graven- 
work. 

It  is  always  a  philosophical  pleasure 
to  spoil  a  good  story,  and  we  feel  impel- 
led to  give  the  sequel  to  the  affair  of  the 
antique  bracelets,  one  or  both  of  which 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Edmond  About. 
About  was  accompanying  Gerome  with 
a  heart  as  light  and  a  wit  as  ready  as  in 
the  old  days  of  the  jfecole  Normale,  when 
he  used  to  write  mock  eulogies  or  com- 
bative arguments  about  Bossuet  against 
young  Hippolyte  Taine  and  Francisque 
de  Sarcey,  or  composed  ridiculous  tales 
destined  to  perish  in  an  oblivion  of  laugh- 
ter amongst  his  talented  circle  of  school- 
fellows.    The  catastrophe  of  the  Egyp- 
tian bracelet  has  been   betrayed  to  us 
through  young  Florent  Heller,  now  in 
America — the  secretary  of  About  in  Al- 
sace, and  in  his  capacity  of  artist  a  pupil 
of  Gerome's.     On  the  return  of  the  car- 
avan to  Paris,  About  betook  himself  to 
a  jeweler  with  his  bracelet,  meaning  to 
have  it  cleaned  and  restored,  and  not  a 
little  proud  of  the  possession  of  a  gen- 
uine antique — the  7'eal  antiques  are  so 
scarce !     The  wise  craftsman  turned  it 
over    and    about    in    his   accomplished 
hands.     A  {&\v  turns,  and  he  had  twisted 
it  into  two  pieces,  revealing  the  existence 
of  a  screw  in  the  middle.     The  novelist 
began  to  look  supernally  wise,  for  the 
ancient   Egyptians  have   not  generally 
been  credited  with  knowing  the  principle 
of  the  screw.     "Let  me  see,"  said  the 
jeweler:  "there   are  only  the  firms  of 
Chose  et  Cie.  and  Messrs.  Un  Tel  who 
make  screws  of  that  sort :  1  can  tell  you 
in  a  moment  who  fabricated  this  one." 
He  examined  it  critically  a  minute,  and 
decided  :  "  This  screw  is  the  manufacture 
of  Chose — not  a  doubt  about  it."     The 
poor  bracelet,  hopelessly  degraded  by 
cold  professional  analysis,  passed  into 
strict  retirement :  it  was  no  longer  boast- 
ed of.    About  had  been  fancying  it  on  the 
wrist  of  Cleopatra  or  of  his  own  fancy- 
feigned  Mo7nie  :  it  turned  out  to  be  only 
a  masterpiece  of  modern  counterfeiting, 
which  the  first  Paris  artisan  was  able  to 
nail — or  rather  screw — to  the  counter. 

The  day  after  the  acquisition  of  the 
bracelet  About  formed  an  expedition  to 


visit  the  mosques  of  Cairo,  inviting  Le- 
noir to  accompany  him.  We  have  no 
intention  of  intruding  on  the  privacy  of 
all  the  members  of  the  party :  the  Doc- 
teiir,  the  Photographer,  the  Naturalist 
(familiarly  called  the  Taxidermist  or 
Evipailleur),  the  Hercules  with  the 
Buckskin  Gloves,  and  the  valetudinarian 
who  suffered  from  a  sunstroke  at  Se- 
nouhres,  though  they  contributed  in  no- 
table degrees  to  the  interest  of  the  party, 
shall  rest  for  us  unnamed.  But  Lenoir, 
who  has  made  the  difficult  plunge  into 
publicity  by  means  of  the  double  spring- 
board of  literary  and  artistic  success,  is 
fair  prey  for  the  general  eye,  and  he  who 
in  his  time  has  made  so  many  outrage- 
ous caricatures  of  his  fellows  shall  be 
lightly  sketched  by  us. 

It  is  incredible  how  the  atelier  Gerome 
could  spare  him,  for  he  was  the  life  and 
soul  of  the  rollicking  band  of  Gerome's 
pupils,  as  he  is  now  of  the  master's 
Egyptian  caravan,  where  he  forms  the 
youngest  member  and  the  pet.  He  led 
all  the  studio  games,  superintended  the 
alumni  dinners,  and  delivered  the  ora- 
tions, on  which  occasions  his  quiet,  sar- 
castic style,  full  of  ready  allusions  and 
apt  quotations,  provoked  those  smiles  that 
are  more  flattering  than  open  laughter. 
Visitors  to  his  studio  remarked  on  the 
door  a  sketch  in  charcoal  —  Ci-git  Paul- 
Marie  Lenoir,  the  phrase  usual  on 
tombstones.  Entering,  an  interior  stuff- 
ed with  artistic  curiosities  met  the  eye. 
Among  the  bric-a-brac  one  large  bust,  a 
female  head  and  shoulder  in  the  gran- 
diose, Michael-Angelesque  style  of  the 
mysterious  "Marcello,"  was  sure  to  at- 
tract attention ;  and  the  young  artist, 
suddenly  quitting  his  sarcastic  manner, 
would  say  respectfully,  "It  was  the  gift 
of  Marcello  to  my  father."  This  intima- 
tion would  probably  strike  the  visitor 
dumb,  for  in  the  Bohemian  world  of  the 
ateliers  nothing  could  be  more  dignified 
than  an  acquaintance  with  a  mythical 
lady  of  genius,  who  went  under  a  mas- 
culine name,  and  who  had  been  com- 
promised by  the  attentions  of  the  em- 
peror. Other  characteristics  added  to 
the  immense  repute  of  Lenoir  among 
the  scholars :  he  was  known  to  possess 


IN  A    CARA  VAN   WITH  GEROME    THE   PAINTER. 


195 


the  personal  friendship  of  the  patron, 
Gerome  himself;  finally,  what  is  never 
noxious  to  a  character  in  a  society  of 
jolly  beggars,  he  was  reputed  rich.  He 
certainly  was  able  to  sport  garments  cut 


in  an  exaggerated  English  style,  such  as 
proclaimed  him  a  creve,  almost  a  gom- 
nieii.x ;  and  he  never  sold,  or  even  fin- 
ished, a  picture. 

Since  his  journey,  however,  Lenoir  has 


t 

$ 

M 

■  ,1 

.7 

i 

1 

7i 

> 

z 

J 
I 

i 

> 

< 

A 

\ 
f 

i 

> 

K 

1  ■ 

7^ 

thrown  some  of  his  fanciful  conceptions 
into  the  market,  and  a  few  have  found 
their  way  to  America.  The  Persian  lover 
riding  up  the  doorsteps  of  his  mistress's 
house  to  reach  a  flower  aloft  to  her  bal- 
cony, the  Japanese  ferry   propelled  by 


swarthy  swimmers,  the  infant  of  Japan 
dragging  a  toy  mammoth  along  the  stree'. 
by  a  gay  ribbon,  and  the  Hindoo  ele- 
phant upright  on  its  hind  quarters  for 
the  amusement  of  the  ladies  of  the  zena- 
nah,  have  been  familiarized  here,  either 


196 


IN  A    CARAVAN  WITH  G&RdiME    THE   PAINTER. 


in  the  original  paintings  or  by  means  of 
prints.  And  surely  that  picture  of  his 
imported  by  Mr.  Avery  last  winter — a 
view  of  the  "Entrance  to  a  Mosque," 
consisting  entirely  of  the  mass  of  assort- 
ed slippers  left  outside  by  the  faithful — 
is  the  same  which  he  made  on  this  au- 
spicious tour  of  inspection,  and  of  which 
he  remarks,  dissimulating  the  identity 
of  the  painter,  "One  of  the  band  made  a 
study  in  the  mosque  of  El-Achraf.  Our 
donkeys  being  left  at  the  door,  we  expe- 
rienced for  the  first  time  the  necessity 
of  conforming  to  the  rule  which  forbids 
one's  shoes  to  follow  their  master  into 
the  sacred  place.  Nothing  could  be 
more  drolly  lugubrious  than  the  battal- 
ion of  our  gaiters  in  battle  array  deject- 
edly waiting  for  us  on  the  steps :  they 
seemed  to  be  envying  us  our  luck  of 
getting  in." 

It  was  no  contemptible  privilege  to  ap- 
proach with  Edmond  About  the  jealous 
doors  of  the  Mohammedan  churches,  for 
that  brilliant  author,  who  has  never 
shown  backwardness  in  availing  him- 
self of  courtly  favor,  had  made  use  of 
his  letters  of  introduction,  and  rode 
through  Cairo  with  an  escort  of  officers 
or  cawas  who  glittered  with  gold,  and 
displayed  his  pockets  filled  with  imperial 
firmans  whose  authority  made  accessible 
the  most  impenetrable  sanctuaries. 

In  the  case  of  the  great  mosque  of  the 
Mameluke  sultan  Hassan,  the  party,  after 
going  through  an  immense  gallery  which 
contained  a  station  of  armed  sentries, 
•were  conducted  by  a  sheikh  to  a  dimin- 
utive door  concealed  in  draperies,  which 
gave  access  to  the  tomb-chamber  of  the 
dead  sultan.  This  chamber  is  in  fact  the 
interior  of  the  great  dome — a  dome  which 
soars  over  all  the  edifices  of  Cairo  like 
the  head  of  a  colossus.  Within,  there  is 
a  fearful  majesty  about  this  gigantic 
cover  of  a  sepulchre :  looking  up  into 
the  air,  the  eye  is  dizzied  with  the  pro- 
digious distance  of  the  vault,  which  is 
decked  with  enormous  pendentives  and 
stalactites  of  sculpture,  now  in  a  state 
of  dilapidation.  Every  day  some  mas- 
sive fragment  of  the  decoration  falls 
splintering  upon  the  floor,  like  a  thun- 
derbolt from  the   highest  zenith.     Far 


from  taking  measures  against  the  dan- 
ger, the  Arabs  accept  as  a  favor  these 
celestial  aerolites,  which  have  the  prop- 
erty of  sending  straight  to  Paradise  those 
of  the  faithful  who  have  the  good  for- 
tune to  be  under  them.  But  the  Prank- 
ish intruders,  who  would  receive  no  such 
benefit  from  a  fortuitous  pulverizing,  were 
hurried  out  by  the  sheikh  after  a  visit  as 
brief  as  it  was  rare. 

The  El-Hakem  mosque,  the  most  an- 
cient in  Cairo,  and  now  a  ruin,  the  El- 
Azhar,  called  the  Magnificent,  and  at 
once  mosque,  college  and  hospital,  were 
successively  visited ;  but  there  are  more 
than  four  hundred  of  the  sacred  edifices 
in  Cairo,  and  the  most  enterprising  trav- 
eler can  hardly  hope  to  see  them  all. 
What  struck  the  infidel  visitors  was  the 
perfect  equality  with  which  nobles  and 
beggars  worshiped  together,  and  the 
animated  attention  with  which  they  lis- 
tened to  the  dull,  endless  reading  of  the 
Koran  from  the  menber  or  pulpit.  The 
corpulent  millionaires  of  Cairo  do  not 
snore  in  church,  and  the  young  men  do 
not  nod :  Saint  Paul  would  here  have 
lost  the  occasion  for  one  of  his  finest 
miracles. 

The  least  considerable  of  these  mosques 
is  a  triumph  of  Saracenic  grace.  The 
mosque  of  Amru  is  not  only  as  old  as  the 
year  A.  D.  640,  and  the  cradle  of  Islam- 
ism  in  Egypt,  but  is  furnished  with  a  Fat 
Man's  Misery,  or  unnaturally  contracted 
passage.  A  pair  of  small  columns  near 
the  entrance,  cut  out  of  a  single  bit  of 
marble,  and  running  together  at  the  cap- 
itals and  bases,  are  credited  from  time 
immemorial  by  pious  Arabs  with  various 
engaging  qualities,  among  others  that  of 
prolonging  the  lives  of  those  who  are 
able  to  pass  between  them  without  break- 
ing the  ribs.  The  excursionists  in  a  body 
took  an  early  opportunity  of  submitting 
themselves  to  the  test.  Most  of  them, 
thanks  to  their  youth  and  genteel  slim- 
ness,  slipped  through  like  letters  at  the 
post,  but  there  was  one  hero  in  the  num- 
ber whose  powerful  bulk  threatened  to  up- 
root the  columns  at  each  of  his  vigorous 
efforts.  "  He  will  pass  !" — "  He  will  not 
pass  !" — "  He  will !"  At  each  conjecture 
of  his  solicitous  friends  the  Samson  re- 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH   GEROME    THE   PAINTER. 


197 


tqS 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  CHROME    THE   FAINTER. 


doubled  his  energy.     He  passed,  but  at 
a  terrible  ransom. 

In  another  part  of  the  same  mosque 
the  faithful  are  promised  eternal  felicity 
in  case  they  can  touch,  after  marching 
blindfold  for  some  distance  along  a  wall, 
a  certain  black  square  imbedded  in  it. 
The  Franks  had  such  uniform  success  in 
laying  hand  on  the  lucky  stone  that  the 
sheikh  in  charge  appeared  to  imbibe 
some  doubt  of  their  good  faith — a  doubt 
possibly  not  without  foundation.  Strange, 
juvenile  people,  which  runs  toward  its 
eternal  salvation  in  sack-races  and  games 
of  hoodman-blind ! 

In  leaving  El-Barbouk,  El-Achraf  and 
their  neighbor  mosques  it  was  impossible 
not  to  pause  for  a  comprehensive  survey 
of  the  whole  group  of  edifices,  a  suburb- 
an settlement  usually  called  the  Valley 
of  Tombs,  but  more  properly  the  City  of 
the  Caliphs.  The  group  of  oval  domes 
floating  one  above  the  other,  the  thread- 
ed minarets  whose  every  stage  is  a  mar- 
vel of  sculpture,  the  golden  Turkish  em- 
blems forming  a  constellation  of  moons 
above  the  whole,  the  faultless  Saracen 
grace  of  the  general  architecture — to 
which,  here  and  there,  cling  the  remains 
of  old  iridescent  tile-work — all  make  up 
a  composition  surpassing  the  most  elabo- 
rate effect  of  the  most  sumptuous  theatre. 
The  Valley  of  Tombs  is  decidedly  one 
of  the  most  pictorial  scenes  in  the  whole 
East. 

Our  dilettanti  regretfully  quitted  this 
beautiful  dream  of  the  Orient  of  Saladin 
and  Haroun.  Returning  into  the  city, 
they  passed  the  Tombs  of  the  Mame- 
lukes, a  collection  of  funereal  monuments 
forming  a  succession  to  the  Caliphs'  Val- 
ley, and  diminishing,  without  doing  vio- 
lence to,  the  suite  of  fair  Eastern  forms 
which  constitutes  that  radiant  picture. 
The  mausoleums,  placed  close  together, 
and  relieved  against  the  mountain  of 
Mokattam,  present  an  aspect  as  pic- 
turesque in  their  kind  as  the  bouquet  of 
mosques.  They  are  sheltered  under  cat- 
afalques of  stone  and  sculptured  wood- 
work, which  struck  some  of  the  party  as 
nearly  analogous  to  Persian  decorative 
styles.  Might  artists  from  Persia  have 
executed  these  monuments,  or  at  least 


been  charged  with  their  ornamentation  ? 
It  is  possible  enough.  On  the  coverings 
of  these  tombs  are  small  decorative 
cupolas  remarkably  like  the  peculiar 
tapering  ogive  of  the  Persian  dome, 
which  gen.irJly  makes  the  outline  of  a 
mere  triangle  with  rounded  corners. 
These  elegant  sepulchres  are  thickly 
planted,  and  form  a  little  special  necrop- 
olis where  one  perceives  a  very  select 
efflorescence  of  the  best  modern  Orient- 
alism. Those  cruel  Mamelukes  must 
have  been  at  bottom  persons  of  great 
distinction  to  be  followed  by  sculptors  so 
candidly  effeminate,  so  amateurish  of 
whatever  was  most  aristocratic  and  fine 
in  Arab  art.  Our  fastidious  Frenchmen 
sniffed  in  the  tombs  of  the  Mamelukes 
a  vague  odor,  as  of  primeval  Jockey 
Club  :  these  fine  mousquetaires  of  Islam, 
said  they,  must  have  been  in  their  time 
collectors  of  pictures  and  connoisseurs 
of  Japanese  porcelain,  like  us  ! 

They  re-entered  the  city  by  the  gate 
El-Karafah,  having  gone  out  by  the  Bab- 
el-Nasr,  the  Gate  of  Victory.  Every- 
where was  a  new  group,  a  new  incident — 
combinations  of  figures,  costumes,  pic- 
ture-motives, which  stung  with  the  high- 
est ardor  these  enthusiastic  young  pen- 
cils, as  yet  unfleshed  in  the  Orient.  The 
Gate  of  Victory,  with  its  two  lofty  square 
towers,  had  been  the  first  study  which 
Gerome  had  made  on  his  earliest  jour- 
ney to  Egypt :  the  junior  painter  of  the 
band  felt  it  only  a  piece  of  faithful  dis- 
cipleship  to  sacrifice  there  a  piece  of 
clean  canvas.  A  rival  attraction,  how- 
ever, was  the  sacred  bath  and  protecting 
palm  tree  of  the  mosque  of  Amru — the 
church  of  the  more  or  less  impassable 
pillars ;  and  the  eager  youths,  defying 
the  stings  of  the  enemy,  leaped  outside 
their  mosquito-nets  in  the  French  cook's 
house  to  pass  a  good  part  of  the  night 
in  the  lightest  of  costumes  among  their 
preparatives  —  their  brushes,  their  can- 
vas-stretchers, their  boxes  and  the  little 
armory  of  colors  contained  in  those  shin- 
ing cartouches  of  sheet  tin. 

These  explorings  and  sketches  were 
not  all  done  at  once :  the  photographer 
of  the  party  was  the  only  one  who  could 
pretend  to  get  "  instantaneous  "  impres- 


IX  A    CARAVAN  WITH  GERdME    THE   PAINTER. 


199 


sions.  The  great  day  of  the  official  visit 
to  the  mosques  was  finished  up  by  About 
and  his  invited  companions  with  a  pres- 
entation to  the  ambassador  from  Persia, 
the  economical  notion  having  occurred 


to  them  that  it  would  be  well  enough  to 
go  somewhere  with  their  embroidered 
guard  of  cawas  where  it  would  be  worth 
the  display.  Nothing  is  more  comical 
than  the  ceremonious  turn  given  to  after- 


noon calls  in  the  East.  The  strangers 
passed  the  allotted  time  in  receiving  from 
a  person  they  did  not  know  a  succession 
of  compliments  on  the  honor  they  con- 
ferred by  using  his  house  and  consuming 
his  provisions.     They  were  stuffed  with 


candies  and  inundated  with  coffee,  none 
of  which  might  be  refused,  and  they 
pushed  etiquette  so  far  as  to  imitate  those 
involuntar)' guttural  noises  which  indicate 
repletion,  and  which  in  Oriental  lands 
are  accepted  by  your  host  as  the  most 


200 


IN  A    CARAVAN  WITH  GEROME    THE   PAINTER. 


delicate  flatter^'.  The  Persian  ministry 
was  a  dream  of  luxury,  an  edifice  lined 
with  porphyry'  and  gold ;  yet  the  most 
incongruous  Westernisms  intruded  every- 
where to  spoil  the  effect :  vulgar  mahog- 
any chairs  were  offered  the  visitors  as  an 
attention  sure  to  please,  and  lithographs 
of  Victoria  and  the  shah  in  yellow-paint- 
ed frames  were  hung  amongst  pictures 
studded  with  pearl  and  precious  metals. 
The  Frenchmen  accepted  ever}thing  with 
bland  admiration,  and  gave  affable  sa- 
lutes to  the  ambassador's  sons,  young 
men  more  Parisian  than  Persian,  clothed 
by  Dusautoy,  and  having  nothing  na- 
tional about  them  but  the  points  of  their 
tapering  hats.  Delighted  with  their  own 
good  manners,  they  were  passing  out, 
congratulating  themselves  on  the  effect 
they  had  made,  when  the  darkness  of  a 
corridor  caused  them  to  rush  ruinously 
into  the  stomach  of  a  black  giant  who 
was  guarding  the  harem.  The  watch- 
chains  and  jewels  with  which  this  living 
canopy  was  hung,  the  rings,  necklaces 
and  pendants  which  gave  him  the  jing- 
ling effect  of  a  Spanish  mule,  and  the 
sabre  as  long  as  himself  which  he  drag- 
ged at  his  side,  all  crashed  in  a  dreadful 
manner  at  the  shock ;  but  he  salaamed 
politely,  and  the  visitors  receded  with  all 
haste  from  the  forbidden  ground. 

We  are  indebted  entirely  to  lady  travel- 
ers for  accounts  of  the  interior  of  harems. 
Yet  the  imprisonment  in  them  of  the  native 
women  is  a  condition  greatly  exaggerated 
in  our  impressions.  If  no  man  is  allow- 
ed to  enter,  the  ladies  at  least  can  go  out 
at  discretion,  whether  for  a  visit  or  for 
the  bath,  and  they  avail  themselves  large- 
ly of  the  liberty. 

It  is  unhappily  evident  that  the  most 
beautiful  women  in  the  East  are  those 
whom  you  do  not  see  :  those  whom  you 
do  see  are  more  singular  than  fair ;  and 
those  whom  you  are  sorry  to  have  seen 
are  invariably  the  most  free  in  proposing 
themselves  for  admiration.  The  orange- 
cfirls  are  as  liberal  of  their  charms  as 
they  were  in  England  under  the  Merry 
Monarch,  and  certain  quarters  of  Cairo 
are  a  perfect  population  of  Nell  Gwynns. 
The  native  names  of  these  women  are 
not  very  various. 


"Fatma!  Fatma !"  you  may  call  at 
hazard  in  a  street,  and  twenty  Fatmas 
will  start  to  life  at  the  apertures  of  the 
carved  windows,  like  the  automata  of  so 
many  cuckoo-clocks.  In  the  whole  col- 
lection some  few  may  be  worth  the  trouble 
of  the  rude  trick.  It  was  a  Fatma  whom 
the  Co-lo-nel  and  his  pupils  decided  to 
summon  for  an  artistic  sitting ;  and  it  is 
Fatma  whom  the  reader  sees  reproduced 
among  these  pages,  with  her  strange  and 
stony  sphinx  head.  It  has  been  very 
accurately  copied  on  the  wood,  as  well 
as  the  other  sketches  and  photographs, 
by  another  disciple  of  the  atelier  Gerome, 
the  good-natured  and  chirpy  little  Saint- 
Elme,  the  same  whom  his  fellows  of  the 
studio,  never  at  a  loss  for  a  graphic  nick- 
name, called  invariably  the  "Poulet." 

Educated  only  as  pieces  of  display, 
like  rare  birds  or  parlor  dogs,  the  Fat- 
mas of  the  East  exhibit  the  most  inno- 
cent gluttony  and  childishness.  To 
dance  well,  sing  well,  drink  well,  smoke 
well  and  sleep  well  are  the  lessons  of  their 
school.  The  particular  Fatma  of  Gerome, 
tall,  young,  majestic,  dreamy,  and  of  the 
purest  Egyptian  type,  had  the  surplus 
qualities  of  drinking  araki  like  a  camel- 
driver  and  smoking  like  a  foot-soldier. 
Two  days  in  succession  she  brought  her 
fine  profile  and  her  military  accomplish- 
ments to  the  mansion  of  the  ex-cook. 
She  found  herself  not  badlv  off,  it  was 
evident,  for  the  artists  had  difficulty  in 
convincing  her  that  affairs  of  the  greatest 
importance  compelled  them  to  renounce 
the  pleasure  of  her  society.  She  depart- 
ed finally  with  a  stock  of  Paris  baubles 
and  a  collection  of  backshish  sufficient  to 
eternalize  in  her  heart  the  memory  of 
the  infidel  painting-travelers. 

After  a  time,  it  must  be  confessed, 
even  Cairo  began  to  pall.  The  eternal 
rattle  and  fuss— the  constant  clattering 
turn  of  the  kaleidoscope — the  fine  pic- 
torial effect  immediately  covered  or  ef- 
faced by  a  new  combination  or  a  prosaic 
interference, — all  this  fatigued  the  artistic 
sense.  The  painters  longed  for  scenes 
more  penetrated  with  Egyptian  repose. 
A  day  came  finally  when  Lenoir  was 
tired  of  sketching  slippers  at  mosque 
doors,  and  even  of  painting — supreme 


IN  A    CARA  VAN   WITH  GEROME    THE   PAINTER. 


JOI 


"''f?fi'i5?'f¥^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


202 


IN  A    CARAVAN   Willi  G^RdME    THE   PAINTER. 


luxury!  —  in  the  reposing-room  of  the 
Turkish  bath  :  it  was  somewhat  exhaust- 
ing, too,  to  assist  day  by  day  in  making 
the  fortune  of  those  irresistible  merchants 
of  the  bazaars  ;  and  he  had  his  Persian 
carpets  and  Janizary  armor  made  up  into 
bales  for  transportation  to  Paris. 

The  grand  preliminary  for  a  journey 
to  the  Desert  and  the  Nile  was  the  choice 
of  some  good  honest  thief  to  keep  off  the 
banditti  of  the  plains.  At  the  first  sum- 
mons the  garden  of  the  ex-cook's  house 
was  filled  with  most  abandoned-looking 
reprobates,  who  severally  invited  the 
travelers  to  confide  to  them,  as  drago- 
mans, their  lives,  Uberty  and  fortunes. 
All  shrieking  at  once,  these  estimable 
brigands  offered  the  certificates  of  cha- 
racter they  had  torn  from  former  vic- 
tims, and  prayed  to  be  engaged.  With 
the  assistance  of  friends  and  advisers  the 
party  succeeded  in  making  a  choice  not 
too  infelicitous  :  the  gentlemanly  tyrant 
whom  they  secured  for  donkey-master 
was  named  Hassahuee.  They  devoted 
a  day  to  testing  their  animals  and  ex- 
amining their  tents,  set  up  for  show  un- 
der the  sycamores  of  the  Esbekiah : 
Lenoir,  incorrigible  sketcher,  managed 
to  snatch  a  journey  and  an  etude  among 
the  Tombs  of  the  Caliphs.  The  camel- 
drivers  who  took  charge  of  the  baggage 
in  the  expedition  up  the  Nile,  and  after- 
ward in  Arabia  Petrea,  were  under  the 
government  of  a  very  intelligent  Syrian 
named  Yusef  Mussali.  To  do  these 
dragomans  justice,  their  conduct  proved 
that  they  had  nothing  very  brigandish 
about  them  but  their  looks.  They  were 
simply  types,  vivacious  and  various,  of 
an  artless  and  docile  Arab  people. 
Only  that  horrible  marplot,  the  incor- 
rigible English  tourist,  could  succeed,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Frenchmen,  in  twist- 
ing awry  those  gentle  creatures  by  a  sys- 
tematic course  of  injustice,  inconsider- 
ateness  and  brutality. 

Crossing  the  river  by  the  lively  ferry 
at  the  island  of  Rudah,  the  caravan  was 
quickly  got  in  order  by  the  impartial 
justice  of  Yusef  ivlussali,  which  express- 
ed itself  in  energetic  blows  administered 
impartially  to  the  beasts  and  beast- 
drivers.      The   party   contemplated  the 


activity  of  that  vigorous  arm,  cleared  for 
action  by  sleeves  turned  up  to  the  shoul- 
der, and  felt  that  they  could  repose  in 
the  authority  of  a  member  so  prompt,  so 
far-reaching  and  so  decisive.  Gizeh  was 
sooii  reached,  a  village  offering  nothing 
remarkable  but  its  ovens  for  chicken- 
hatching  and  its  strategic  position  as  the 
key  of  the  Grand  Pyramids.  The  valley 
of  the  Nile  here  offered  a  scene  of  arti- 
ficial culture  quite  creditable  to  the  na- 
tional industry,  but  not  so  satisfactory  to 
the  fastidious  artistic  eye,  which  very 
quickly  tires  of  the  raw,  uniform,  metal- 
plated,  unyielding  green  of  agricultural 
improvement. 

One  tableau,  however,  was  afforded  by 
these  regions  of  immemorial  husbandr)^ 
The  irrigation  of  the  country,  in  some 
localities  where  the  banks  were  steeper 
and  more  cliff-like,  was  effected  by  that 
most  poetical  of  watering-machines,  the 
sakhyia.  Remnant  of  the  antique  Egypt, 
the  sakhyia  is  a  primitive  revolving  pump, 
turned  by  a  camel,  an  ass  or  an  outland- 
ish-looking buffalo,  who  wears  his  horns 
in  the  fashion  prescribed  by  the  paintings 
in  the  ancient  tombs.  Two  huge  wheels, 
which  form  the  water-works,  keep  low- 
ering and  lifting  a  succession  of  buckets, 
an  ever-turning  rosary  of  russet-colored 
urns.  The  location  of  a  sakhyia  usually 
affords  a  combination  of  all  that  is  Ori- 
entally picturesque  in  shapes  and  colors : 
there  the  artist  may  constantly  find  a 
foreground  with  broken  banks,  water, 
tufts  of  palm,  animals  and  drivers,  as 
well  as  infants  and  women  who  come 
with  their  jars  in  preference  to  dipping 
in  the  Nile  itself. 

The  great  sycamore  near  the  Pyramids, 
habitual  resting-place  for  traveling  en- 
campments, was  leased  by  the  caravan 
for  three  days,  with  right  and  privilege 
of  tent-pitching.  Here,  under  the  super- 
intendence of  the  cook,  thev  lived  on 
potted  meats  dressed  with  desert  sand, 
sanded  bread,  poultry  au  sable,  and  wine 
improved  with  a  fine  crusty  ilavor  from 
the  same  condiment.  Several  watches 
among  the  party,  visited  by  the  pene- 
trating element,  stopped  as  if  by  an  en- 
chantment. The  Pyramids  of  course 
were  made  a  conquest. 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  CiA'dME    THE   PAINTER. 


203 


"Monsieur  the  count — Caivaga — forty 
centuries — Bonaparte — look  down  upon 
you — monsieur  the  baron — Bono  Fran- 
zaotiir  then  with  a  personal  application, 
"Good  Arab — good  backshish."  It  was 
a  chorus  to  deafen  the  Sphinx.  They 
visited  the  interior  as  well  as  the  surface, 
and  were  touched  by  the  dismantled  state 
of  the  "Queen's  Chamber,"  a  boudoir 
bare  of  furniture  or  even  wall-paper,  and 
resembling  nothing  so  much  as  a  room 
of  the  Quartier  Breda  when  one  of  the 
volatile  inmates  has  lost  her  "things" 
by  the  cruel  swoop  of  a  sheriff's  attach- 
ment. Poor  queen  !  said  the  Paris  call- 
ers :  her  bedroom  is  not  chargeable  with 
much  Benoiton  e.xtravagance. 

There  is  but  little  forage  for  the  artist 
in  the  Pyramids  when  close  at  hand : 
their  pictorial  value  is  when  seen  in  a 
silhouette,  as  from  Gizeh.  Then  the 
mathematical  relation  of  their  lines  and 
angles,  suggestive  as  it  is  to  science,  is 
found  to  be  also  particularly  satisfactory 
to  the  Eesthetic  eye.  As  for  the  Sphinx, 
it  is  the  exemplar  and  gnomon  of  a  pass- 
ed art,  whose  perfection  and  self-sufficing 
attainment  may  not  be  ignored  by  the 
most  frivolous  observer.  It  is  not  the 
magnificent  vastness  which  alone  causes 
this  imperious  effect :  the  face  wears  an 
expression  entirely  definite  and  voluntary 
— the  look  of  beatitude,  pointed  with  the 
sense  of  superiority  and  irony. 

The  appetites  which  the  tourists  brought 
back  from  their  climb  ought  to  have  been 
satisfactory  to  the  forty  centuries  which 
have  the  office  of  surveying  Frenchmen 
who  encamp  beneath  the  Pyramids.  The 
same  evening  was  enlivened  and  made 
almost  archjeological  by  the  presence  of 
an  asp,  which  one  of  the  camel-drivers 
had  neatly  intercepted.  This  astute- 
looking  little  reptile,  the  true  coluber  or 
asp  of  Cleopatra,  and  perhaps  the  law- 
ful descendant  of  that  which  drank  from 
the  queen's  unsceptred  arm,  was  not  ven,' 
frightful  in  appearance.  The  fang  of  the 
asp,  however,  is  more  venomous  than 
that  of  some  more  hideous  serpents,  and 
its  two  horns,  resembling  the  antennte 
of  a  beetle,  give  it  a  look  of  alertness 
and  curiosity  not  at  all  calming  to  the 
nerves.     The  first  night  in  the  desert  was 


further  marked  by  the  production  of  a 
wolf-trap,  with  which  one  of  the  younger 
pilgrims  had  encumbered  his  trunk,  in 
the  hope  of  seducing  a  jackal,  or  pos- 
sibly the  jackal's  master.  The  trap  was 
set  with  a  savory  luncheon,  but  the  jack- 
als were  modest  and  did  not  call. 

The  village  of  Sakkara,  attained  the 
day  after  leaving  Gizeh,  allowed  the  trav- 
elers a  hunt  after  a  quieter  sort  of  game. 
They  were  there  among  the  ruins  of 
Memphis,  and  soon  found  themselves 
picking  the  bones  of  old  burghers  of 
that   vanished    city.      The    ghoul  -  like 

G took   possession   of   two   skulls, 

horribly  decayed,  which  form  to-day  in 
his  opinion  the  loveliest  ornament  in  his 
museum  at  Chatou ;  and  Lenoir,  with 
the  instinct  of  a  pearl-diver,  detached 
from  a  female  skull  a  row  of  beautiful 
teeth,  almost  as  perfect  and  primitive  as 
those  which  Eve  set  in  the  apple  of 
Paradise. 

The  same  enterprising  youth  at  Dachur 
had  a  success  of  gallantry  by  painting 
the  fingers  of  the  water-bearing  maids 
with  blue  and  yellow  from  his  color-box. 
The  mysterious  sketches  which  he  drew 
on  their  earthen  jars  were  also  viewed 
with  the  greatest  favor.  Tamieh,  whose 
graceful  oasis  and  buildings  form  the  sub- 
ject of  one  of  our  engravings,  was  dis- 
tinguished by  a  stroke  of  sportsmanship 
on  the  part  of  Gerome,  as  lucky  in  its 
way  as  the  finest  stroke  of  his  pencil. 
The  bowers  around  the  village  have  been 
selected  for  a  residence  by  droves  of 
wild  boars,  who  form  there  a  noisy  and 
pestiferous  republic.  Gerome,  whose 
present  visit  was  not  his  first,  can  attach 
to  Tamieh  the  most  flattering  recollec- 
tions of  the  chase,  for  he  drew  upon 
these  outlaws  the  finest  bead  that  the 
villagers  had  ever  seen,  and  contributed 
partially  to  relieve  them  of  the  pests  that 
ravaged  their  kitchen-gardens.  Attend- 
ed by  the  son  of  the  sheikh  of  Tamieh, 
an  uncouth  fantoccini  gamboling  in  a 
brown  night-shirt,  he  gave  chase  to  a 
huge  beast  that  had  approached  the  en- 
campment. Three  bullets  in  the  shoulder 
and  leg  sent  him  rolling  into  the  river  to 
drown,  whence  he  was  fished  up  by  the 
Arabs,  streaming  blood  and  Nile  water. 


204 


IN  A    CARA  VAN   WITH  G&RdME    THE  PAINTER. 


The  sheikh's  son  startled  the  village  with 
his  cries  of  "  Alouf  /  Alotif !  Kalas  ! 
Cawaga  G6r6me  kebir  !"  as  he  danced 
into  the  town  at  the  head  of  the  hunters, 
preceding  the  prey,  which  formed  a  heavy 
camel-load  and  weighed  three  hundred 
pounds. 

At  Fidemine  the  young  sheikh  of  the 
place  visited  the  artists'  encampment. 
He  brought  the  ceremonial  present,  a 
plate  of  steaming  rice  seasoned  with 
saffron  and  perforated  with  a  few  wither- 
ed drumsticks  of  poultry. 

"  How  long  since,"  said  Gerome  to  the 
youthful  governor,  "have  you  been  vis- 
ited by  Europeans  ?  Not  many  foreign- 
ers pass  by  here,  to  judge  from  appear- 
ances. Your  town  will  not  be  improved 
with  gas  and  English  railroads  until  they 
have  spread  over  all  the  world." 

The  sheikh  took  the  question  serious- 
ly, as  if  Mohammed  himself  were  cate- 
chising him.  Consulting  his  own  thoughts 
a  minute,  he  answered  studiously,  "Five 
years  since  they  came :  my  father  was 
the  shiekh  of  Fidemine  then.  I  was 
younger  than  at  present,  but  I  have  faith- 
fully kept  the  recollection." 

On  calculating  the  date  by  certain  de- 
tails, with  the  season  of  the  year  and  the 
day  of  the  month  illumined  by  the  pas- 
sage of  the  well-remembered  travelers, 
it  was  found  that  the  sheikh  was  allud- 
ing, without  knowing  it,  to  the  second 
Egyptian  tour  of  Gerome  himself. 

After  a  pause  of  several  minutes  the 
Arab  added:  "My  father  described  to 
me  how,  just  five  years  before  that  again, 
strangers  had  come  to  our  village  and 
gone  a-hunting.  Some  of  those  Euro- 
peans installed  themselves  opposite  our 
houses,  sitting  down  in  front  of  small 
boxes,  and  seemed  to  forget  everything 
in  a  kind  of  labor  which  was  unknown 
to  us." 

That  un comprehended  craft  was  the 
art  of  oil-painting.  The  pilgrim  absorb- 
ed before  a  box  which  he  held  on  his 
knees  beneath  a  broad  umbrella  was 
Gerome  again,  on  his  first  journey,  a  pe- 
riodical comet  due  every  five  years. 

The  province  through  which  the  artists 
were  now  passing  was  Faium,  one  of  the 
most  patriarchal   and   primitive  in  the 


Nile  valley.  Its  most  important  focus  is 
the  lake  of  Moeris  and  the  town  of  Medi- 
net.  The  simple  arrangement  of  the 
edifices,  the  fine  sculptural  forms  of  the 
land,  and  the  unworldly  simplicity  of  the 
manners  make  Medinet  an  artist's  jewel. 
Gerome  owes  to  Medinet-el-Faium  one 
of  his  conceptions  of  greatest  beauty,  a 
picture  stamped  with  the  very  seal  of  the 
East,  and  perfectly  adapted  to  the  mon- 
umental nobility  of  his  taste.  Of  this 
picture,  which  has  been  in  America,  we 
are  able  to  present  an  elaborate  and 
sufficing  wood-cut,  one  of  Saint-Elme's 
most  careful  reproductions. 

Medinet  was  likewise  the  theatre  of  Le- 
noir's remarkable  adventure  in  spoiling 
the  Egyptians.  Struck  with  the  long, 
bridle-like  ear-ornaments  of  a  young 
village  girl,  the  young  amateur  under- 
took to  track  her  as  she  walked  along 
balancing  her  water-jar.  The  damsel, 
conscious  of  being  followed,  suspiciously 
hastened  her  pace.  Lenoir  ambled  on 
more  vigorously.  Sure  now  that  the 
evil  eye  was  bent  on  her,  the  maiden 
fled  into  the  thickest  of  the  bazaar  of 
Medinet,  the  pitcher  on  her  head  rocking 
like  a  tower  in  an  earthquake,  Lenoir 
galloped,  and  Atalanta  fled  still  faster. 
Nothing  would  have  arrested  her  but 
what  really  did  occur  for  that  purpose — 
the  loss  of  one  of  her  slippers.  Lenoir, 
picking  up  the  sandal,  offered  it  like  a 
bouquet,  his  hand  on  his  heart.  The 
graces  of  Paris,  always  irresistible,  made 
a  hasty  conquest  of  this  primitive  gazelle, 
and  she  ultimately  gave  him  her  ear, 
then  her  ear-drops,  and  finally  the  slip- 
pers whose  treachery  had  led  to  her  con- 
quest. Pressing  the  enormous  galoches 
to  his  heart  again,  the  artist  suffered  her 
to  vanish  with  his  backshish,  retaining 
for  his  share  the  memory  of  a  fleeting 
Grace  and  the  slipper  of  a  fleeting  Cin- 
derella. 

Fa'ium  charmed  our  painters  by  its  cha- 
racter, essentially  gentle  and  patriarchal, 
its  inhabitants,  almost  biblical,  and  the 
wild  growths  of  its  oasis,  partially  un- 
cultivated. It  was  the  realization  of  a 
Paradise  inhabited  by  the  personce  of  a 
pastoral. 

(end  of  part  first.) 


IN  A  CARAVAN  WITH  G&ROME  THE  PAINTER. 


205 


IN  A  CARAVAN   WITH   GEROME  THE   PAINTER. 

CONCLUDING   PART. 


ALMEH.      (FAC-SIMILE  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  ETCHING   BY  J.  L.  g£r6mE.) 


THE  camels  of  state  provided  by  the 
khedive  expressly  for  Gerome  were 
awaiting  him  and  his  party  at  Suez  to 
continue  the  excursion  through  the  burn- 
ing deserts  and  wadys  of  Arabia  Petrea. 
One  member  of  the  artist-band,  attacked 
by  painful  symptoms  of  sunstroke  at 
Senures,  was  longing  to  get  back  to  Cai- 
ro and  to  the  possibility  of  seeing  a  good 
doctor  in  that  capital.  The  allotted  days 
of  the  journey  were  passing.  Yet  Ge- 
rome and  his  fellow-painters,  infatuated 
with  the  beautiful  oasis  of  Faium,  con- 
tinued to  explore  its  canals  and  exam- 


ine its  little  towns  as  long  as  they  could 
find  the  least  excuse  for  so  doing.  It 
seemed  to  them  like  a  page  of  pure  Bible 
life  fastened  down  upon  the  desert ;  and 
they  hesitated  with  luxurious  reluctance 
to  cross  the  Nile  and  face  the  robber- 
infested  wilderness  of  the  Red  Sea.  A 
rencounter  almost  worth  a  sunstroke  to 
meet  was  the  lucky  chance  of  the  travel- 
ers at  Senures. 

Here  for  the  first  time  they  found  the 
primitive,  unsophisticated  dancing-girls 
of  the  East.  The  circumstances  and  the 
company  amongst  which  they  met  them 


>o6 


IN  A    CARAVAN  WITH  GAROME    THE   PAINTER. 


supplied  the  most  piquant  relief,  and  the 
whole  performance  remains  imprinted  on 
the  minds  of  Gerome  and  his  friends  as 
the  perfection  of  impromptu  farce. 

The  primitive  almch  whom  Gerome 
represents  in  his  etching  is  very  different 
from  the  spoiled,  cosmopolitan  dancing- 
girls,  contaminated  with  a  hundred  tricks 
learned  from  European  travelers,  who 
cheapen  their  exhibitions  to  the  taste  of 
staring  Cockneys  in  Cairo.  This  is  a 
Muse  of  the  wilderness.  Sullen  and 
passionate  by  turns,  she  traces  her  plas- 
tic statuary  for  the  eyes  of  rude  men  of 
the  desert,  swart  Nubians,  simple  con- 
noisseurs from  the  cradle  of  the  Nile. 
The  negroid  features,  the  heavy  festoons 
into  which  she  plaits  her  tresses,  the 
sculptural  way  in  which  she  can  throw 
a  drapery  over  her  head,  the  rude  coins 
she  decks  herself  with — so  different  from 
the  half-crowns  and  shillings  with  which 
the  Cairo  beauty  is  proud  to  bedizen  her- 
self— all  seem  strange,  picturesque,  re- 
mote, peculiar.  Her  head,  scrupulously 
imitated  in  our  engraving,  is  one  of  the 
very  few  studies  in  aquafortis  which  Ge- 
rome has  ever  given  to  the  public.  It 
attracted  the  attention,  before  he  died, 
of  Theophile  Gautier,  ever  on  the  look- 
out for  something  bizarre  and  savage  as 
a  stimulus  to  his  jaded  appetite.  Having 
found  the  etching  in  an  exhibition  ar- 
ranged for  the  profit  of  unfortunate  art- 
ists, Gautier,  in  his  own  strenuous  lan- 
guage, raved  of  the  "eyes  half  shut,  and 
as  if  blinded  by  the  sun,"  the  "heavy 
lips,  liberal  divan  on  which  to  lay  a  kiss," 
and  the  "  cheeks  polished  like  those  of 
images  in  basalt."  The  simple  strength 
of  the  execution,  too,  was  much  to  his 
taste.  "All  these  traits  are  indicated," 
he  remarked,  "with  a  few  strokes  of  a 
swift,  assured  needle,  which  expresses 
more  facts  than  all  the  patient  toiling  of 
the  burin.  It  is  a  rough  sketch  on  cop- 
perplate, quite  as  valuable  as  an  original 
pencil-drawing :  the  biting  of  the  aqua- 
fortis has  nowise  changed  its  character." 
Indeed,  Gerome,  granting  to  him  his  pro- 
nounced love  for  forms  in  repose,  is  an 
unequaled  draughtsman,  expressing  with 
a  light  scatter  of  strokes  a  texture,  a 
complexion  or  an  arrested  movement. 


"Go  to  the  crayon-drawings  by  Raphael 
in  the  Louvre,"  he  will  sometimes  say, 
"and  see  what  directness  of  expression  ! 
With  the  simplest  and  readiest  curves  he 
defines  a  bony  articulation,  the  round 
hardness  of  an  acting  muscle  or  the 
swinging  line  of  a  relaxed  one.  Having 
the  secrets  of  anatomy  by  heart,  Raph- 
ael knows  instantly  whether  there  is  soft 
flesh  or  hard  bone  under  a  piece  of  skin, 
and  in  the  most  definite  way  tries  to  find 
a  stroke  that  will  express  at  once  the  de- 
sired texture.  There  is  no  rubbing  the 
drawing  over  to  an  even  state  of  grit  or 
wool :  everywhere  is  tendon,  skin  or 
bone,  defined  in  the  plainest  language." 
His  own  strokes  and  hatchings  are  much 
less  inventive  and  varied  than  Raphael's, 
but  they  search  in  a  similar  way  for  the 
plain  carriage  of  some  truth,  and,  as  his 
industrial  motto  seems  to  be  Nulla  dies 
sine  linea,  so  is  the  lesson  of  his  pencil 
Nulla  linea  sine  aniina.  —  Of  all  which 
practice  and  theory  the  head  we  refer  to 
is  a  good  example,  not  easily  obtained 
otherwhere  than  in  our  pages. 

Hasne,  with  her  fine  braids  intermin- 
gled with  threads  of  gold,  with  her  eyes 
cast  down  to  hide  their  liquid  brightness, 
with  her  pendent  coins  and  sweeping  blue 
draperies,  was  the  heroine  of  a  fete  which 
Gerome  saw  fit  to  give  at  Senures  in  hon- 
or of  the  civic  authorities.  Our  expedi- 
tion, when  approaching  provincial  towns, 
found  it  necessary  to  put  on  a  good  deal 
of  state  and  to  assume  an  almost  pleni- 
potentiary importance.  Thus,  when  the 
ditch-threaded  fields  and  ruined  tombs 
of  Senures  were  reached,  the  tents  were 
ostentatiously  spread  in  an  eligible  spot, 
and  the  flag  of  France  was  allowed  to 
unroll  its  colors  to  the  respectful  African 
breeze.  These  preliminaries  arranged, 
the  painters,  their  beasts  hung  about  with 
glittering  ornaments  in  the  taste  of  the 
country,  went  solemnly  to  pay  their  re- 
gards to  the  sheikh.  Arrived  at  the 
mayor's  office  of  Senures,  a  young  Arab 
in  gorgeous  raiment  came  forth  to  ap- 
prise the  visitors  that  his  sheikh,  although 
aware  of  the  illustrious  strangers'  ap- 
proach, was  obliged,  together  with  his 
municipal  council,  to  forego  the  pleasure 
of  receiving  them.     Reasons  of  the  last 


IN  A    CARAVAN  WITH  G JEROME    THE  PAINTER. 


207 


importance  compelled  this  civic  action. 
On  the  next  day,  however,  the  ediles 
would  hasten  to  present  to  the  strangers, 
on  the  thresholds  of  their  own  tents  and 


under  the  shadow  of  the  French  fla^, 
their  profoundest  homage. 

Not  undelighted  with  this  response,  the 
Frenchmen   withdrew ;    but,   while    the 


eluer  and  more  serious  members  of  the 
troop  prepared  to  regain  their  tents,  the 
younger  artists,  willing  to  ride  somewhere 
after  the  trouble  of  being  mounted,  de- 
sired their  dragoman  to  take  them  to  the 
dancers'  quarter.  There  was  Hasne,  with 
a  dozen  of  her  friends,  drinking  araki 


among  a  crowd  of  well-dressed  and 
courteous  Arabs.  The  evening  was  spent 
over  lessons  in  the  softest  Lalla-Rookh 
phrases  at  the  feet  of  these  princesses, 
care  being  taken  to  sit  out  the  well-dress- 
ed Arabs,  who  retired  salaaming. 

Next  day,   for  the  reception   of   the 


208 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  GAROME    THE  PAINTER. 


sheikh,  a  feast  of  splendor  was  arranged, 
ably  combining  the  revels  of  Cleopatra 
with  the  discretions  of  Mabille.  Paper 
lanterns  were  strung  up  in  the  largest 
tent,  the  chests  and  trunks  were  disposed 
like  tiers  and  orchestra-seats  in  a  theatre, 
a  carpet  folded  in  two  made  the  imperial 
box  allotted  to  Gerome  and  his  staff,  and 
the  dragoman  rolled  a  bran-new  kuffi 
round  his  skull-cap.  The  city  council 
arrived  in  state :  it  was  the  very  group 
of  civil  Arab  gentlemen  who  had  been 
surprised  overnight  in  the  courts  of  the 
dancing-women,  and  whom  reasons  of 
the  highest  municipal  importance  had 
kept  from  being  at  home  to  receive  their 
visitors ! 

The  nil  admirari  of  Eastern  charac- 
ter prevented  these  statesmen  from  being 
any  way  embarrassed  as  they  met  the 
amazed  recognition  of  one  after  another 
of  the  French  youths.  Shirking  a  cere- 
monial observance  in  order  to  keep  ap- 
pointments made  with  dancing-girls,  and 
then  being  surprised  in  the  act  of  drop- 
ping the  national  pocket  handkerchief 
at  the  feet  of  these  enchantresses,  ap- 
peared to  them  the  simplest  thing  in  the 
world.  So  far  from  being  abashed  at 
having  been  seen  in  the  exercise  of  their 
austere  functions,  the  council  met  their 
European  acquaintance  with  the  air  of 
congratulating  them  on  the  way  in  which 
the  friendship  had  been  formed,  and  they 
greeted  with  lofty  Eastern  languor  the 
entrance  of  that  charming  Hasne  with 
whom  they  had  so  frankly  unbent  the 
night  before. 

Hasne  swept  in,  a  surprising  spectacle. 
Having  been  summoned  to  add  to  the 
pleasures  of  the  entertainment  by  a 
display  of  her  art,  she  had  dressed  for 
the  part  with  a  sense  of  its  importance, 
and  presented  an  aspect  worthy  of  inter- 
national criticism.  She  was  draped  in  a 
long  blue  robe  bestarred  with  patines  of 
bright  gold;  this  was  caught  up  at  the 
girdle  by  fringes  of  embroidered  silk  in 
a  style  of  the  wildest  innocence — or  bra- 
vado. Her  head  was  artistically  wrap- 
ped in  a  yellow  cloth,  which  formed  the 
strangest  of  coiffures,  combined  as  it  was 
with  innumerable  slender  tresses  falling 
from  under  it  to  the  shoulder,  some  of 


them  caught  together  on  the  forehead 
with  imperceptible  clasps  of  gold. 

The  metallic  clamor  of  all  her  netted 
coins  and  pendants,  the  harsh  cries  with 
which  she  preluded  her  first  steps,  and 
the  awful  bray  of  her  barbaric  accom- 
panists, gave  something  of  a  diabolic 
cast  to  the  comedy.  The  travelers  had 
never  felt  so  far  from  home.  At  the  first 
accords  of  the  two-stringed  viol  with  the 
darabiika,  or  earthen  kettledrum,  Hasne 
planted  herself  all  at  once  in  the  middle 
of  the  tent.  Nailed  to  her  place  by  the 
feet,  the  dancer  seemed  to  suffer,  in  her 
body,  like  a  thrill  of  passion,  the  vibra- 
tions proceeding  from  the  instruments 
Waves  of  motion  rolled  down  the  mus- 
cles of  all  her  supple  form  from  the  neck 
to  the  ankles.  As  the  music,  from  its 
first  slow  cadences,  became  brisker,  the 
gestures  of  the  dancer,  her  contortions 
and  the  convulsive  movements  of  her 
limbs  took  on  a  more  feverish  and  sav- 
age character.  Raising  her  heavy  lids, 
the  velvet  blackness  of  her  eyes  seemed 
suddenly  furnished  with  vivid  lightnings, 
for  the  strangest  sparks  shot  from  them 
during  the  unintermitted  shocks  of  the 
movement.  Not  only  did  the  muscles 
of  the  torso  and  the  limbs  seem  now  one 
convulsive,  complaining  mass  of  love- 
tormented  motion,  but  the  flexible  hips 
were  made  to  move  with  incredible  sup- 
pleness, and  the  soft  bare  feet,  though 
never  detached  from  the  ground,  were 
seen  to  be  treading  a  measure  by  sym- 
pathetic movements  of  all  the  bones  and 
of  the  arch  of  the  insteps.  Arrived  at 
the  climax  of  this  rhythmic  drama,  the 
dancer  sank  shudderingly  to  her  knees, 
and  then  executed  kneeling  a  new  series 
of  figures,  more  strange,  suggestive  and 
picturesque  than  the  first.  Hasne  had 
certainly  the  most  faultless  natural  grace 
in  seeming  to  undergo  these  nervous 
possessions  :  with  the  instinct  of  the  true 
artist  she  controlled  every  movement 
even  when  seemingly  most  abandoned 
to  an  irresistible  convulsion,  and  never 
once  betrayed  the  angularity  of  weak- 
ness and  imperfection.  For  more  than 
an  hour  she  varied  her  unearthly  postures 
with  the  limpid  softness  of  a  water-ser- 
pent joined  to  the  grace  of  a  gazelle. 


IN  A    CARAVAN  WITH  GEROME    THE   PAINTER. 


209 


Apparently  on  this  occasion  inspired  by 
the  Africo  -  European  expansion  of  her 
httle  world,  by  the  promise  of  double 
bakshish  and  by  the  official  assistance 
of  the  mavor  and  his  suite,  Hasne  sur- 


passed herself.  The  raptures  of  the  na- 
tive audience  seemed  to  indicate  some 
performance  beyond  the  common.  Or- 
anges, sweetmeats,  money  and  araki 
were  poured  at  her  feet.     Behind  the 


MONAslKKY    (JN    MOUNT   SINAI:    THE   AERIAL   DOORWAY. 


guests  a  compressed  mass  of  humanity, 
formed  from  the  servants  of  the  caravan 
and  the  friends  of  the  musicians,  was 
sweating  and  grilling,  presenting  a  hun- 
dred vignettes  of  wild  Arab  character 
14 


surprised  in  its  sincerest  expression.  Two 
camel-driv-ers  in  Gerome's  ser\-ice,  en- 
tirely given  over  to  the  enjoyment  of 
their  senses,  formed  a  group  fit  to  illus- 
trate the  Arabiaji  Nights.     Both  were 


no 


IN  A    CAR  A  VAN  WITH  GAROME    THE  PAINTER. 


one-eyed,  and  both  blind  of  the  same 
side.  Whether  or  no  sympathy  had 
brought  them  together,  they  were  perch- 
ed side  by  side,  and  were  loudly  express- 
ing the  effects  of  drink  and  beatitude ; 
but  when  Hasne,  falling  on  the  carpet 
like  a  wounded  tigress,  stretched  and 
contorted  her  limbs  with  expiring  efforts, 
they  could  contain  themselves  no  longer. 
One  driver  suddenly  seized  in  both  his 
hands  the  head  of  the  other,  and  shook 
it  violently  to  the  music  with  actual 
howls  of  delight :  the  other,  while  his 
head  was  thus  used  to  beat  time  like  a 
baton,  yielded  himself  to  the  treatment 
with  the  most  expressive  spasms  of  pleas- 
ure. At  length,  just  as  the  head,  shaken 
more  violently  every  minute,  seemed 
about  to  be  plucked  quite  off  and  hurled 
to  the  dancer  like  a  rose,  the  two  tur- 
bans, after  tilting  over  the  ear,  unrolled 
themselves  and  fell  into  ruin,  showing 
the  mysterious  tuft  called  "the  Moham- 
med " — the  crown  which  the  true  Moslem 
is  forbidden  to  expose,  and  by  which  he 
will  be  lifted  into  Paradise.  Schehere- 
zade  herself  would  have  been  glad  to 
introduce  into  her  repertory  these  two 
irresistible  figures,  with  their  parallel 
blindness,  with  the  scarlet  immodesty  of 
their  hot  shaved  heads,  with  their  em- 
braces, their  raptures  and  their  tipsiness. 
The  others,  expressing  themselves  in  their 
several  ways,  were  hardly  less  pleased. 
Hasne,  contorted  in  a  kind  of  spiral  with 
her  oranges  at  her  feet,  presented  the 
superficial  semblance  of  a  cornucopia, 
or  horn  of  plenty. 

Lenoir,  in  a  spirit  of  mischievous  curi- 
osity, approached  her  with  a  little  neck- 
scarf,  worth  thirteen  sous  at  home,  such 
as  the  country-girls  wear  around  their 
nut-brown  necks  on  Sundays.  At  this 
temptation,  Hasne  very  suddenly  drop- 
ped her  role  of  possessed  Pythoness. 
Lenoir  commencing  to  show  the  treasure 
by  inches,  she  snatched  it  like  a  monkey, 
took  possession  of  it,  applied  it  to  her 
neck,  then  over  her  head,  and  seemed 
about  to  flee  lest  it  should  be  taken  from 
her.  When  made  to  understand  that 
the  gaud  was  to  be  given  her  as  bak- 
shish, she  approached  her  benefactor 
with   convulsions   of    contentment  that 


resembled  epilepsy,  and  for  a  while  Le- 
noir seemed  less  likely  to  be  thanked 
than  bitten  :  floods  of  words  escaped  her, 
harsh,  piercing  and  discordant.  The 
dragoman  gave  up  the  task  of  translating 
her  grateful  Orientalisms,  and  Lenoir  was 
obliged  to  retire  with  half  his  meed  of 
thanks  ungrasped  by  his  understanding. 

More  successful  in  his  lingual  transac- 
tions with  the  sheikh  was  Gerome,  the 
Co-lo-nel  of  the  party  and  chief  Amphit- 
ryon of  the  feast.  It  is  one  of  the  bizarre 
accidents  of  M.  Gerome's  education  that 
while  ignorant,  as  all  Frenchmen  are, 
of  the  most  widely-spoken  of  European 
tongues,  and  constrained  to  respond  with 
"  Helas  !  non,"  to  the  first  question  put  by 
every  hopeful  American  visitor  whether 
he  speaks  English,  this  conversationalist, 
so  one-sided  in  his  own  studio,  has  but 
to  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  find 
himself  in  easy  communication  with  the 
people.  Gerome  speaks  Arabic  like  a 
native.  His  adieus  with  the  lord  mayor 
of  Senures  were  performed,  then,  with 
much  grace,  at  becoming  length,  in  suit- 
ably extravagant  metaphors  and  with 
endless  repetition.  The  esteem  of  the 
municipality  was  gained  securely.  The 
burgomasters  retired.  Hasne,  for  her 
part,  made  a  much  more  popular  and 
sensational  exit  than  they,  and  rode  roy- 
ally off  on  Gerome's  biggest  donkey, 
followed  by  the  acclaims  of  all,  from 
masters  to  lowest  servants. 

Next  morning  at  five  a  fire-cracker 
cackling  was  heard  outside  the  tents,  and 
there  was  Hasne,  accompanied  by  a  vo- 
ciferous chorus  of  friends  and  compan- 
ions. She  explained  that  upon  the  rising 
of  the  sun  she  had  experienced  a  desire 
to  see  her  friends  again.  Hasne  was 
quieted  with  a  little  coffee :  a  rather  bril- 
liant matinee  reception  was  achieved  to 
the  constant  tune  of  "Ya  kulum  habibi 
kebir."  The  morning  call  would  have 
been  an  unshadowed  success  had  it  not 
been  for  Hasne's  unprincipled  seduction 
of  Jules. 

Jules  was  a  wooden-headed  jumping- 
jack,  which  Lenoir,  as  the  baby  of  the 
troop,  had  claimed  the  privilege  of  bring- 
ing from  home,  with  the  vow  of  showing 
him  every  famous  sight  from  France  to 


IN  A    CARAVAN  WITH  GEROME    THE  PAINTER. 


21  I 


Persia.  This  hopeless  Httle  imbecile, 
usually  suspended  by  an  elastic  to  the 
neck  of  his  patron's  donkey,  had  regard- 
ed the  wonders  of  travel  with  unmoved 
vacuity,  had  gazed  from  the  summit  of 


the  Pyramids  upon  the  French  camp  as 
stoically  as  the  forty  centuries  themselves, 
and  had  been  a  perpetual  solace  to  his 
protector  by  the  consistency  and  obdu- 
racy of  his  dullness.     Hasne  saw  him, 


attached  him  to  her  ears  and  her  fore- 
head, and  uttered  sharp  shrieks  of  joy. 
In  the  afternoon  Lenoir  made  a  color- 
study.  Night  came :  Hasne  and  Jules 
had  eloped. 

The  efforts  and  emotions  attendant  on 


giving  and  composing  the  feast  were  now 
followed  by  sensations  still  more  dra- 
matic, as  the  painter  and  his  friends, 
threading  the  populace  of  actresses  in 
their  dens,  undertook  to  bring  to  light 
the  myster)'.     Their  new  but  close  rela- 


212 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  CHROME    THE   PAINTER. 


tions  with  the  municipality  were  not  un- 
needed  in  obtaining  a  separation  of  body, 
bed  and  board  between  this  impression- 
able lady  and  her  last  alliance.  Hasne 
lingered  fondly  around  the  camp  for 
many  days,  and  the  only  way  by  which 
the  painters  could  obtain  the  privacy 
necessary  for  their  studies  was  in  fright- 
ening the  damsel  almost  sick  by  photo- 
graphing her.  Lenoir,  consoled  at  the 
return  of  Jules,  betook  himself  industri- 
ously to  painting  water  -  carriers  and 
washing-women.  One  day,  returning  to 
camp,  he  saw  a  hideous  "spectacle  ser- 
pent," or  naja,  lying  in  the  middle  of 
the  road  engaged  with  its  digestion  after 
a  hearty  meal  of  chicken,  and  apparent- 
ly waiting  for  its  doctor.  The  creature, 
having  swollen  around  its  prey  like  a 
leech,  was  almost  unable  to  stir,  and 
presented  the  figure  of  a  monstrous  frog 
with  the  rudiment  of  a  tail.  It  was  kill- 
ed by  the  Arabs,  its  head  literally  whip- 
ped off  with  a  switch,  and  the  striped 
skin  offered  to  the  traveler.  The  golden 
urcEUS,  the  emblem  worn  on  the  forehead 
in  so  many  Egyptian  statues,  is  nothing 
else  than  a  representation  of  this  serpent, 
taken  at  its  most  dyspeptic  or  fully-gorged 
moment. 

Meantime,  the  visitation  of  sunstroke 
upon  a  cherished  member  of  the  party 
cast  a  gloom  upon  the  whole  band,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  accompany- 
ing the  invalid  back  to  Cairo.  Indeed, 
the  further  tracing  up  of  the  Nile  was 
not  a  part  of  their  plan  :  they  proposed, 
returning  by  Medinet  and  Cairo,  to  push 
on  to  Suez,  Akabah  and  the  mysterious 
wilderness  beyond.  The  final  luncheon 
at  Senures  was  embellished  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Hasne,  who  manifested  a  touch- 
ing sensibility  at  the  thought  of  a  sepa- 
ration. To  tr)'  her  with  a  new  test,  the 
Hercules  of  the  expedition  produced  his 
celebrated  buckskin  gloves,  adapted  to 
the  measure  of  a  pair  of  hands  that 
could  have  strangled  a  great  many  iiajas 
or  iircEuses.  The  little  paws  of  the  dancer 
were  quite  lost  in  the  great  reddish-color- 
ed gauntlets,  but  the  joy  of  Hasne  was 
indescribable.  She  walked  from  tent  to 
tent  shrieking  with  happiness,  and  show- 
ing her  small  fists  and  enormous  shields 


to  every  one.  To  reobtain  the  gloves  it 
was  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the 
Fabulist  or  longbow-puller  of  the  caravan, 
who  assured  her  that  the  buckskins  were 
accursed  and  would  bring  ill-luck.  Bak- 
shish, the  universal  healer  of  wounded 
hearts  here  below,  consoled  this  suscep- 
tible female,  and  she  saw  the  caravan 
start  for  Cairo  with  a  good  grace. 

The  attentions  and  repose  obtainable 
at  the  metropolis  had  a  happy  effect  upon 
the  invalid,  who  was  soon  able  to  ac- 
company his  fellows  in  the  further  ex- 
plorations they  chose  to  make  among 
the  streets  and  mosques  of  Cairo.  Each 
painter,  as  he  watched  the  incessant 
crowd  and  caught  the  varying  silhouette 
of  the  groups  of  domes,  wished  that  he 
had  months  to  give  for  every  day  allot- 
ted to  Cairo.  But  the  East  is  compassed 
now-a-days  at  railroad  speed,  and  it  was 
the  railway  that  hurried  them  off  one 
brilliant  morning  to  Suez  in  modern  first- 
class  carriages  intended  to  hold  six  per- 
sons, but  into  which  eight  were  packed 
lest  they  should  feel  cold. 

The  desert  separating  Suez  from  Cairo 
was  formerly  a  real  bugbear  and  very 
toilsome  to  cross,  the  camels  sinking  in 
the  slippery  sand  to  their  knees.  This 
sand  is  a  white  impalpable  dust  yielding 
to  every  wind,  so  that  the  domed  hills  of 
to-day  give  place  to-morrow  to  an  ab- 
solute plain.  The  color  of  the  powder  is 
the  color  of  treachery  :  it  varies  with  the 
wind  and  with  the  time  of  day.  At  early 
dawn  the  sands  are  rose-colored,  with 
violet  shadows  ;  sometimes  at  noon  they 
are  a  plain  of  untinted  snow ;  in  the 
short  period  of  twilight,  reflecting  like 
metal  plates  the  burning  tones  of  the  sun 
at  his  setting,  the  mountains  of  snow 
sometimes  seem  turned  to  mountains  of 
fire. 

Our  travelers  found  Suez  full  of  pas- 
sengers making  the  transit  to  or  from  In- 
dia. The  English  hotel  was  overflow- 
ed, and,  after  obtaining  the  use  of  the 
saloon  for  bed-room,  the  painters  dis- 
covered a  dozen  Britons  snoring  in  cho- 
rus even  in  that  retreat.  The  English- 
men were  not  very  polite  on  being  dis- 
turbed from  their  dreams ;  and  their  ill 
grace   aroused    the   most  reprehensible 


IN  A    CARAVAN    WITH    GENOME    THE    PAINTER. 


213 


14 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  Gil  ROME    THE   PAINTER. 


feelings  of  revenge  in  the  Gallic  bosom. 
The  sleepers  were  quickly  awakened  to 
the  fullest  extent  by  finding  the  gas  turn- 
ed on  and  burning  at  full  head,  while  a 
group  of  fantastic  beings  in  nightcaps 
and  airy  robes,  sitting  under  white  um- 
brellas with  color-boxes  in  their  laps, 
were  making  sketches  of  the  rows  of 
English  boots,  and  all  the  while  loudly 
discussing  the  eternal  and  glorious  prin- 
ciples of  art.  Nor  were  the  young  men 
content  with  this  mild  victimization. 
Having  given  strict  orders  to  the  boot- 
black, they  set  at  the  door  a  single  boot 
out  of  every  English  pair,  the  majority 
of  which  were  of  crude  yellow  leather : 
when  these  came  back,  all  ebon  and 
varnish,  they  were  silently  placed  among 
their  original  mates,  but  not  until  the 
authors  of  the  jest  were  far  on  their  way. 
The  superb  blooded  dromedaries  which 
henceforth  bore  the  party  on  their  way 
were  the  special  and  graceful  loan  of  the 
khedive.  This  gentleman,  whom  pro- 
longed residence  at  Paris  has  made  a 
perfect  European  at  will,  was  as  well 
aware  of  Gerome's  reputation  and  intel- 
lectual rank  as  any  Frenchman  of  the 
boulevards.  Nine  immensely  tall  beasts, 
with  mountains  on  their  backs  and  no 
end  of  legs,  did  up  their  joints  into  com- 
pressed kneeling  postures  as  the  artists 
mounted,  and  shot  up  to  a  fearful  alti- 
tude the  moment  they  felt  their  loads  in 
place.  These  quadrupedal  giants  were 
an  appropriate  offering  from  the  viceroy's 
own  stable  to  the  painter  who  had  done 
so  much  to  make  Egypt  famous  and 
bring  its  glories  of  landscape  or  history 
visibly  before  the  eye  of  the  world.  Ge- 
rome  and  the  Doctor  and  the  Naturalist 
mounted  with  such  grace  and  dignity  as 
they  could  command.  When  it  came 
to  the  turn  of  young  Lenoir,  he  found 
that  the  most  colossal  of  the  nine  had 
been  derisively  allotted  to  him.  Now, 
Lenoir  is  not  in  his  own  person  an 
overgrown  man :  already  at  Medinet, 
when  the  damsel  of  the  large  slippers 
offered  him  drink  from  her  urn,  it  oc- 
curred to  him  that  he  could  not  play  a 
very  good  Eliezer,  so  far  as  profile  went, 
to  her  Rebekah.  He  is  in  fact  construct- 
ed rather  on  the  pattern  allotted  to  Mr. 


Harry  Foker  by  the  author  of  Pendennis, 
having  a  dark  skin,  short  legs  and  an 
incorrigible  grimace.  He  stood  up  by 
his  camel  a  moment,  measuring  his 
length  against  its  endless  legs:  then,  as 
the  brute  knelt,  after  a  brief  space  of 
serious  meditation  he  recommended  his 
soul,  and  immediately  staggered  up  with 
the  rising  animal  to  a  height  superior  to 
that  of  anything  in  the  caravan — a  pre- 
eminence which  he  guarded  proudly  for 
the  rest  of  the  expedition. 

The  wilderness  life  of  the  party,  under 
the  active  dragomanship  of  Yussef  Mus- 
sali  the  Syrian,  soon  became  a  triumph 
of  organization.  The  commissariat  was 
supplied  with  the  usual  preserved  meats 
and  an  unusual  assortment  of  choice 
wines.  The  persotinel  of  the  artist- 
troop  had  by  this  time,  on  that  prin- 
ciple of  natural  selection  which  has  ar- 
ranged the  solar  system,  gravitated  into 
a  certain  rank.  Gerome  and  a  given 
contingent  of  his  friends  formed  the  se- 
rious group.  One  of  the  pair  of  smaller 
tents  was  allotted  to  himself  and  closest 
comrades,  and  ran  up  the  national  tri- 
color whenever  it  camped :  the  other  was 
for  the  rest  of  the  "  serious."  Of  the  three 
large  tents,  one  was  the  club-room  and 
dormitory  of  the  spirits  unblessed  with 
quiet,  the  sons  of  Belial  who  loved  to 
dance  all  night  round  a  table :  this  un- 
hallowed precinct  was,  unhappily  for  the 
interests  of  a  quiet  theory  of  existence,  the 
popular  one.  Ever\^  night  the  "serious" 
philosophers  came  to  the  door  and  beg- 
ged to  be  admitted,  but  Lenoir  always  ex- 
acted a  dear  payment  for  this  entrance. 
The  five  tents  with  their  furniture,  borne 
upon  a  total  of  twenty-seven  camels  and 
dromedaries,  formed  a'  train  of  very  re- 
spectable magnitude. 

The  Red  Sea,  as  seen  on  the  map, 
puts  up  two  long  arms  at  the  top,  much 
like  the  horns  of  a  snail.  At  the  ex- 
tremitv  of  one  horn  is  the  town  of  Suez  : 
the  corresponding  town  garnishing  the 
other  horn  is  Akabah.  The  land  clip- 
ped between  the  two  horns  is  a  moun- 
tainous, irreclaimable  wilderness,  full  of 
canons  or  wadys,  forming  a  sort  of  pe- 
ninsula as  it  extends  deeply  into  the 
embrace  of  the  two  arms  of  the  Red  Sea. 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  G^ROME    THE   PAINTER. 


215 


On  this  tongue  of  rocky  land  immemorial 
tradition  has  fixed  the  location  of  Mount 
Sinai.  The  accuracy  of  this  attribution 
is  being  just  now  strongly  combated  by 
a  learned   and  venerable  British  geog- 


rapher and  traveler.  If  Beke's  drifting 
of  Sinai  toward  Arabia,  quite  to  the  east 
of  Akabah,  be  right,  it  may  have  this  of 
importance  about  it,  that  we  may  be  com- 
pelled to  relinquish  Egypt  as  the  land 


MONOLITHIC   TEMPLE    AT    I'ETKA. 


from  which  the  Jews  escaped,  and  im- 
aeine  the  Misraim  which  held  them  in 
bondage  as  some  temporary  dynasty 
which  succeeded  in  reclaiming  a  part  of 
Arabia  Petrea  from  the  Ishmaelites. 


The  course  through  the  wadys  and 
along  the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea  is  slow 
and  difficult.  The  caravan  is  thrown 
completely  on  its  own  resources,  and  one 
feels  at  last  the  close,  savage,  throttling 


2l6 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH   GEROME    THE   PAINTER. 


embrace  of  the  Desert,  like  a  snake, 
bound  to  kill  if  it  may.  Nature  here  is 
no  friend  to  human  life :  she  must  be 
fought  at  every  step.  One  day— it  was 
in  February,  but  hot  as  a  furnace — the 
tents  were  drying  after  a  storm,  near 
Wady  Sadr  on  the  shore  of  the  sea,  and 
the  artists  were  admiring  the  sausage- 
like red  of  the  rain-washed  mountains, 
when  two  human  forms  were  seen  on 
the  horizon.  Approaching,  they  were 
seen  to  be  naked,  wasted  to  skeletons, 
their  eyes  unnaturally  large,  and  they 
made  signs  that  they  were  dying  of  hun- 
ger. Fishermen  of  the  Red  Sea,  they  had 
lost  their  boat  in  the  storm.  The  Co-lo- 
nel  and  the  Doctor  constituted  themselves 
friendly  rivals  in  the  task  of  preserving 
these  poor  starved  beings  from  death. 
They  were  served  with  judicious  rations 
of  food,  which  restored  them  little  by 
little,  and  at  last,  shedding  tears  of  grati- 
tude, they  departed  with  a  contribution 
of  food,  wine  and  spirits  to  try  and  find 
their  way  to  Suez. 

The  Mardi-Gras,  February  25th,  found 
the  pilgrims  bathing  in  the  Fountain  of 
Marah,  whose  corrosive  salts  pricked 
their  skins  and  covered  them  with  blis- 
ters. At  home  what  gayeties  and  mask- 
ings,  thought  the  lads,  while  we  are 
smarting  with  the  bitter  penalties  and 
laws  of  Sinai !  Determined  not  to  be 
entirely  conquered,  a  kind  of  Mardi- 
Gras  procession  was  organized.  The 
grave  Syrian  servants  looked  on  in  won- 
der as  the  young  men,  dressed  in  such 
travesty  as  their  wardrobes  afforded,  ex- 
ecuted torchlight  promenades,  with  pa- 
triotic songs  and  atelier  jokes  of  the 
most  respectable  antiquity. 

The  next  wady,  called  Wady  Schilla, 
surpassed  all  that  they  had  heard  of 
in  the  way  of  fantastic  coloration :  the 
rocks,  all  ochre  or  vermilion,  with  geo- 
logic strata  of  blue  and  green,  seemed 
to  be  coarsely  painted  by  a  voluntary 
hand.  A  distribution  of  the  painters 
was  made  to  secure  the  memoranda  of 
all  the  principal  colors.  Gerome  under- 
took to  copy  the  red  and  yellow  cliffs, 
and  treated  their  strange  effects  with  a 
master  hand  :  Lenoir  accepted  the  blue, 
and  his   bedfellow  the  green.     Several 


days  were  occupied  in  this  singular  scen- 
ic art.  Then  came  Wady  Mokatteb,  the 
Written  Valley;  Wady  Faran,  with  its 
forests  of  virgin  palm,  whose  untrim- 
med  plumes  swept  the  ground ;  Wady 
Solaf;  and  finally  Sinai,  as  the  whole 
world  calls  it,  with  its  rock-perched  mon- 
astery. 

The  convent  is  a  great  stronghold,  a 
castle  fully  able  to  sustain  itself  against 
the  surrounding  bandits.  In  the  im- 
mense tower  is  fixed  the  elevated  door- 
way, soaring  over  the  ground  at  a  pro- 
digious height,  wherein  provisions,  vis- 
itors and  materials  are  admitted,  with 
the  assistance  of  a  basket,  a  rope,  a  pul- 
ley and  a  capstan  worked  by  the  fathers. 
At  present,  however,  a  modern  door  at 
the  base  of  the  tower  is  generally  used. 
By  this  prosaic  entrance  the  artists  in- 
vaded the  sanctuary.  They  were  made 
welcome  guests,  and  passed  frequently, 
day  after  day,  from  their  camp  without 
the  walls  to  the  warm,  candid  and  intel- 
ligent hospitality  within.  The  monks, 
dressed  in  the  dignified  robes  of  the 
Greek  Church,  were  figures  to  strike  the 
eye  of  a  painter.  Their  superior,  an  old 
man  with  a  splendid  white  beard  tum- 
bling like  a  cataract  of  snow  to  his  very 
girdle,  took  Gerome  and  his  friends  into 
high  favor.  They  were  made  free  of 
the  library,  where  Lives  of  the  Saints 
and  other  manuscripts  enriched  with  the 
finest  mediaeval  miniatures,  the  Evangels 
written  by  the  emperor  Theodosius,  and 
many  other  books  in  grand  old  bindings, 
made  the  artists'  mouths  water  with  ap- 
preciation. In  the  enclosure  is  seen  the 
place  of  the  apparition  of  the  Burning 
Bush,  where  visitors  still  approach  with 
uncovered  feet ;  and  on  the  hills  hard 
by  the  place  where  the  Law  was  deliver- 
ed to  Moses,  and  the  five  holes  at  the 
base  of  Horeb  where  the  miraculous 
fountain  was  opened. 

The  holy  men  are  held  in  the  highest 
respect  by  all  the  robbers  around  them, 
who  come  up  with  their  disputes  for  ar- 
bitration. In  the  same  way  the  camel- 
drivers  of  the  expedition,  disputing  about 
some  trifle,  were  appeased  as  soon  as  the 
monks  had  spoken. 

The  Sinai  encampment  concluded  with 


IN  A    CAR  A  VAN   WITH  G  A  ROME    THE   PAINTER. 


217 


a  joyous  ceremony,  in  which  the  monks 
joined  with  the  best  possible  grace.  It 
was  the  birthday  of  one  of  the  caravan, 
the  beloved  Doctor,  whose  boot-soles 
had  been  worn  to  paper  in  the  most  ac- 


tive researches  among  these  rocks  con- 
secrated as  the  milestones  in  the  biog- 
raphy of  the  grand  Jewish  legislator. 
Six  days  beforehand  the  cook  had  been 
put  upon  his  mettle,  and  the  happy  day 


was  graced  by  a  dinner  tit  for  Sardanap- 
alus.  Two  soups,  four  side-dishes,  three 
roasts,  salads,  sweets  and  plenty  of  mus- 
tard,— it  was  the  Frankest  outrage  upon 
the  cuisine  of  quails  and  manna  for  which 
the  place  is  traditional.  Wines  and  studio- 


songs  lubricated  the  whole  dinner,  while 
the  good  fathers  were  present  to  grant 
absolution  wherever  necessary.  The 
monks,  who  carefully  cultivate  the  man- 
na-yielding plant,  gave  to  each  of  their 
visitors  on  departure  a  little  Ijag  of  man- 


!lS 


IX  A    CAR  A  VAN   WITH  GilROME    THE  PAINTER. 


na  and  a  tin  tube  filled  with  honey  from 
Mount  Sinai.  They  submitted  with  de- 
light their  handsome  faces  to  the  pho- 
tographer of  the  party :  the  proofs  were 
distributed  to  the  good  men  when  the 
artists  made  their  call  of  farewell,  and 
copies  of  the  group  which  the  reader 
sees  among  these  pages  are  gazed  at 
with  complacency  to-day  by  the  originals 
in  that  rock-built  nest  so  bare  of  inci- 
dents. 

More  of  the  wearisome  wadys,  and 
then  Akabah.  This  station,  much  to  the 
artists'  surprise,  was  full  of  interest  and 
character,  far  beyond  Suez.  It  is  the 
depot  where  the  troops  of  pilgrims  to 
Mecca  are  provisioned  ;  and,  with  its  sav- 
age sheikh  and  brigandish  neighbors, 
affords  quite  a  surfeit  of  adventure.  The 
ceremonial  feast  offered  to  this  robber- 
mayor  was  a  most  singular  comedy,  af- 
fording many  a  rueful  laugh. 

The  sheikh,  whose  name  was  Moham- 
med Gadd,  was  absent  at  the  time  of  the 
caravan's  arrival,  being  engaged,  as  his 
son  very  candidly  expressed  it,  in  rob- 
bing camels  among  the  neighboring 
tribes.  Meantime,  the  artists'  kitchen- 
tent,  as  soon  as  it  was  set  up,  was  visited 
by  crowds  of  furiously-hungry  people,  in- 
cluding many  estimable  country  sheikhs 
— characters  who  could  only  be  treated 
with  politeness,  and  whose  meddling 
ways  drove  Achmet  the  cook  almost  mad 
with  rage  as  he  served  them  repeatedly 
with  coffee  and  cognac. 

The  respectable  robber-sheikh  came 
home  late  at  night,  when  the  rockets  had 
all  been  fired  and  the  paper  lanterns 
hung  up  in  his  honor  had  burned  out. 
He  approached  the  little  camp,  and  the 
dragoman,  in  a  panic  of  apprehension, 
announced  the  veritable  Mohammed 
Gadd,  the  most  authentic,  as  he  was  the 
fattest  and  ugliest,  of  all  the  sheikhs. 

Gerome  was  extremely  exasperated  at 
this  untimely  visit.  Awakened  all  of  a 
sudden  after  a  hard  day's  journey,  he 
came  out  gloomy  and  lowering  in  a  hasty 
toilet,  and  looked  about  for  his  guest ; 
but  the  sheikh  was  not  to  be  seen.  In 
fact,  finding  the  principal  tent  deserted 
on  his  arrival,  he  had  rolled  off  his  mare 
and  made  with  unfailing  instinct  for  the 


kitchen.  Here  he  called  for  everything 
that  he  took  a  fancy  to,  not  disdaining 
to  fall  in  line  so  as  to  pass  to  his  numer- 
ous suite  the  coffee-cups  and  glasses 
which  he  demanded  from  Achmet.  Ap- 
prised that  the  Co-lo-nel  was  ready  to 
receive  him,  he  started  like  a  child 
caught  in  the  jelly-closet,  and  was  found 
hastily  ensconced  in  the  saloon-tent,  his 
mouth  full  and  a  Rheims  sponge-cake  in 
his  hand. 

"Tell  him,"  said  Gerome  sharply  to 
the  dragoman,  "that  now  I  have  seen 
him  I  shall  be  happy  all  the  next  four- 
and-twenty  hours,  and  that,  to  begin  im- 
mediately, I  am  going  to  go  to  bed." 

And  with  this  honest  growl  the  weary 
Co-lo-nel  retired  to  his  pavilion,  leaving 
to  his  courier  and  young  friends  the  task 
of  serving  out  compliments  and  coffee : 
the  last,  to  simplify  the  manoeuvre,  Mo- 
hammed Gadd  finished  by  swilling  in 
large  quantities  out  of  the  sugar-bowl. 

The  sheikh  departed  with  the  consol- 
atory remark  that  he  would  call  again. 
The  artists  expressed  rapture,  but  pro- 
posed to  be  off  at  an  early  hour  to  avoid 
the  proffered  honor.  In  fifty  minutes, 
however,  there  was  heard  a  new  and  in- 
creased confusion.  The  faithful  mayor 
had  come  to  fulfill  his  promise,  with  a 
new  band  of  provincial  sheikhs,  among 
whom  was  his  brother.  Sheikh  Mak-Bul, 
who  would  accompany  the  artists  to  Petra. 
Poor  Achmet,  as  the  new  demands  for 
coffee  began  to  fall  upon  his  ear,  raised 
his  arms  to  Heaven  and  uttered  cries  of 
grief. 

The  poor  caravan  left  a  large  part  of 
its  provisions  in  the  maws  of  these  Aka- 
bah cormorants.  The  rest  it  distributed, 
on  a  precisely  similar  system,  among  the 
savage  sheikhs  whom  it  was  Mak-Bul's 
business  to  introduce  and  to  conciliate. 
Thus  complimenting,  complimented  and 
robbed,  they  moved  on  amongst  the  ban- 
ditti to  Petra. 

It  was  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
when,  after  a  gradual  ascent  from  the 
level  of  the  sea  that  had  lasted  for  days, 
the  guides  called  a  halt  and  pointed  to 
the  marvelous  panorama. 

Petra,  the  city  carved  out  of  a  single 
stone,  like  a  cameo  on  a  ring,  was  be- 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH  G^ROME    THE   PAINTER. 


219 


fore  them,  encrusted  upon  the  spurs  of 
Mount  Hor  and  its  sateUites.  From  this 
point  the  monuments  and  constructions 
of  the  city  could  not  be  distinguished. 
A  vague  and  general  sense  of  artificial 
design  could  alone  be  traced  in  the  mod- 
eling of  the  sweeping  valleys  and  pre- 
cipitous ravines.  Naturally  fortified  by 
its  position  on  the  mountain,  the  strategic 
importance  which  made  the  Romans  un- 
dertake so  elaborate  a  construction  as 
Petra  could  be  understood.  The  natural 
rock  in  which  they  worked  out  their  pro- 
digious design  is  a  sandstone,  of  a  deep 
red  color  which  cannot  be  represented 
in  our  engraving,  rather  friable  in  qual- 
ity, and  sometimes  displaying  the  swol- 
len boulder  -  forms  of  volcanic  lavas. 
Petra,  as  a  settlement  of  rock-dwellers 
or  troglodytes,  goes  back  to  the  earliest 
Bible  times.  It  was  the  Romans,  how- 
ever, who  appreciated  its  position  as  a 
junction-point  between  Arabia,  Egypt 
and  India,  and  who  chose  to  develop  it 
into  the  fantastic,  theatrical  and  alto- 
gether extraordinary  city  we  see. 

Unhappily,  the  Romans,  powerful  as 
their  hand  was,  did  not  always  apply  it 
to  works  of  the  best  taste.  The  designs 
of  the  Petra  monuments  awakened  but 
mediocre  admiration  from  our  company 
of  artists.  It  is  Roman  architecture  of 
the  decline,  surcharged  with  ornament, 
with  a  quantity  of  overweighted  pedi- 
ments, flowering  columns  and  needless 
niches ;  one  architectural  motive  shoul- 
dering away  another,  and  the  whole 
heaped  together  -without  system  or  con- 
trol. The  backgrounds  of  Pompeii  paint- 
ings, with  their  mad  perspective  and  gid- 
dy porticoes  and  colonnades,  are  here  re- 
peated in  the  solidity  of  stone.  To  show 
the  melodramatic  character  of  the  whole 
construction,  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
Petra  is  entered  through  a  gloomy  fissure, 
over  which  is  thrown  an  a-'ch  like  a 
bridge ;  but  it  is  a  bridge  which  carries 
no  road,  which  is  inaccessible,  which 
connects  nothing,  and  which  therefore 
can  be  nothing  but  a  big  and  useless 
ornament. 

Even  more  puzzling  is  the  temple, 
which  bursts  upon  you  after  a  long 
scramble  through  dark  and  difficult  pas- 


sages, cunningly  illuminated  with  a  nar- 
row beam  of  sparse  sunshine.  The  ig- 
norant Arabs,  who  connect  everything 
hereabouts  with  the  past  glories  of  Egypt, 
call  this  faqade  by  the  name  "Treasure 
of  Pharaoh" — Kasneh  Firun.  It  is  in- 
tended, apparently,  as  the  entrance  to  a 
roomy  temple,  but  it  gives  access  to  noth- 
ing but  a  small,  undefinable  room  with 
niches,  too  petty  for  a  chapel  and  too 
large  for  a  tomb.  It  is  like  a  monu- 
ment in  a  church,  and  perhaps  perpet- 
uates the  fame  of  some  Roman  tax-col- 
lector or  magistrate.  It  is  two  stories 
high,  and  the  urn  on  the  summit  is  much 
marked  with  bullets,  the  Arabs  being 
firmly  convinced  that  it  holds  enormous 
treasure,  yet  not  having  enterprise  to  at- 
tempt any  more  systematic  exploration 
than  an  occasional  shot  at  it.  The  real 
interest  of  this  relic,  as  indeed  of  Petra 
in  its  entirety,  is  not  in  its  design,  but  in 
the  audacity  of  its  construction  :  the  tem- 
ple, like  the  whole  city,  is  carved  in  the 
solid  mountain — a  monolith. 

Near  the  great  theatre,  which  still 
curves  its  hemicycle  of  benches  in  a  cup- 
like nook  of  the  mountain,  is  an  inscrip- 
tion in  Greek,  pointing  to  an  antiquity 
much  higher  than  the  Roman  conquest 
of  Arabia  by  ^lius  Gallus.  Around  the 
circumference  of  the  theatre,  too,  just 
over  the  heads  of  the  imaginary'  sitters, 
are  chambers  cut  out  in  the  rock,  which, 
though  taken  by  some  savants  to  be  a 
sort  of  theatrical  boxes,  are  much  more 
probably  the  rooms  of  the  primitive 
cave-dwellers. 

The  young  impertinents  of  the  band 
could  not  leave  Petra  without  mending 
out  the  Greek  and  Roman  inscriptions 
with  additions  entirely  original.  Also, 
they  kindly  wrote  on  the  walls  the  names 
of  passages  and  avenues,  such  as  Wady 
Moiiffetard  and  Guignol  Square;  ac- 
companying this  nomenclature  with  en- 
ergetic profiles  of  sheikhs  of  the  country 
who  had  obtained  their  esteem  or  notice, 
and  in  whose  likenesses  they  took  care 
to  abstain  from  flattery.  Four  months 
later,  at  Damascus,  Lenoir  encountered 
a  party  of  antiquarians  who  had  been 
exceedingly  baffled  and  irritated  by  these 
amended  inscriptions,  and  he  had  the 


IN  A    CARAVAN   WITH   CHROME    THE   RA INTER. 


pleasure  of  inveighing  strongly  with 
them  against  the  sacrilege  of  unscrupu- 
lous wits  who  would  complicate  the  study 
of  the  past  with  gross  or  inappropriate 
restorations. 

The  sortie  from  Petra  might  have  been 
difficult  but  for  the  firmness  and  coolness 
of  Gerome.  The  sheikh  who  accompa- 
nied them  as  a  guard  against  the  Bed- 
ouins chose  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
amount  of  his  recompense,  and  required 
a  pay  proportional  to  the  grandeur  of 
the  viceregal  dromedaries  which  carried 
and /i7^^</ the  party.  When  called  upon 
to  escort  them  out  of  the  defile,  he  de- 
murred, objecting  that  his  horse  was  not 
there.  The  Co  -  lo  -  nel,  with  a  steady 
glance  from  his  black  eyes,  ordered  him 
imperatively  to  mount  and  escort  the 
band :  he  grumblingly  obeyed.  The 
other  Arabs  accompanied  the  procession, 
muttering  claims  for  payment.  At  last, 
Nossar,  the  sheikh  of  Petra,  dismount- 
ed, and  came  up  to  Gerome  lance  in 
hand,  asking  for  an  increase  of  his  pres- 
ent. The  Co-lo-nel  simply  drew  out  his 
pocket-book,  and  smilingly  showed  it 
quite  empty :  to  complete  the  allegory, 
Gerome  took  off  his  cloak  and  proffered 
it  to  the  sheikh.  Utterly  confused  as  he 
was  by  this  offer,  the  fellow  was  still  dis- 
satisfied, and  presently  a  young  Arab, 
nephew  to  Sheikh  Nossar,  placed  him- 
self in  the  w^ay  of  the  travelers,  with  a 
pistol  pointed  at  the  dragoman.  Three 
of  the  Frenchmen  thereupon  showed 
their  revolvers,  and  the  cowardly  ras- 
cal rode  away,  while  the  procession 
wound  through  the  rocks  in  silence. 
The  pile  of  stones  limiting  the  boundary 
of  Petra  was  reached,  and  the  caravan 
was  in  another  jurisdiction.  By  good 
judgment  and  abstinence  from  either 
threats  or  timidity  the  day  was  saved 
without  bloodshed.  The  artists  were  free 
to  continue  their  journey  toward  Jerusa- 
lem and  Damascus. 


Such  is  the  coolness  which  it  often 
takes  a  brave  man  a  whole  lifetime  to 
learn  !  Gerome  has  not  always  been  so 
forbearing.  In  this  astute,  ready,  sober- 
headed  man  of  the  world,  which  of  his 
old  comrades  of  '48  would  recognize  the 
radical  young  demagogue  who  headed  a 
deputation  with  a  petition  for  abolishing 
marriage  ?  The  self-command  exhibited 
in  his  pointing  at  the  brigands  without 
firing  does  perhaps  show  a  little  more  of 
the  old  spirit  of  self-forgetful  courage,  as 
when,  in  his  early  duel,  he  discharged 
his  own  pistol  in  the  air,  allowing  the 
jealous  husband  to  plant  a  bullet  in  his 
arm,  where  it  still  remains  and  causes  a 
slight  lameness  of  the  member.  Per- 
haps that  little  transaction  came  into  his 
mind  when,  in  the  ravines  of  Petra,  he 
showed  the  muzzle  of  his  weapon  to  the 
nephew  of  Nossar  without  pulling  the 
trigger.  It  is  well  to  guard  what  was 
calm  and  courageous  in  our  youth — the 
offspring  of  healthy  nerves — and  let  what 
was  unsound  and  visionary  go.  So  Ge- 
rome has  acquired,  as  the  auxiliary  of 
his  remarkable  artistic  talent,  a  decent 
modicum  of  business  tact.  He  married, 
and  his  choice  was  the  daughter  of  a 
great  picture -merchant,  who  since  the 
union  has  taken  care  of  his  son-in-law's 
fortunes  and  found  splendid  markets  for 
his  ingenious  pictures.  And  when  trav- 
eling in  Dreamland,  as  it  were,  in  the 
land  of  sunrise  and  enchantment,  Ge- 
rome does  not  scorn  the  assistance  of  the 
powers  that  be,  but  rides  to  his  ideal 
right  out  of  the  viceroy's  stable,  on  a 
dromedary'  twice  as  high  as  that  which 
supports  the  ordinary  tourist.  A  little 
sense,  mixed  in  with  the  composition  of 
genius,  is  a  "mon'sus  good  thing,"  as  our 
uncle  the  Major  would  say ;  for  it  gets, 
instead  of  the  cloud  that  is  almost  in 
shape  of  a  camel,  the  royal  beast  himself 
in  all  his  housings,  and  may  calmly  sur- 
vey the  world  from  that  eminence. 


COUNT  DE  BEAUVOIR    IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


2  21 


WITH    THE   COUNT   DE   BEAUVOIR   IN   JAPAN   AND    CALIFORNIA. 


o 


N    landing    at  Yokohama,    M.   de 
Beauvoir  and  his  companions  were 


struck  by  the  animation  of  the  place, 
and  having  secured  quarters  at  a  hotel 


rushed  to  the  window  to  admire  the  cos- 
tumes, and  the  want  of  them,  in  the  ac- 
tive crowd  that  passed  through  the  street. 


The  Japanese  appeared  to  be  smaller 
than  the  Chinese,  but  their  countenances 
were  much  more  expressive  of  vivacity 


COUNT  DE   BEAUVOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


and  amiability.  The  women  especially 
were,  charming,  their  ebony  -  black  hair 
elegantly  arranged  in  three  stories  with 
ornamental  pins ;  their  faces  smiling  and 
rosy — painted  a  little,  it  is  true — and  their 
teeth,  in  some  instances,  stained  or  gilt. 
They  trotted  along  upon  small  wooden 
shoes,  and  were  wrapped  in  overcoats, 
with  a  thick  band  of  scarlet  or  green 
cloth  about  their  waists,  tied  in  a  large 
knot  behind,  sometimes  a  foot  square 
and  shaped  like  a  cartridge-box. 

As  for  the  men,  according  to  their  so- 
cial position  they  had  costumes  varying 
from  zero  up  to  half  a  dozen  jackets 
or  tight-fitting  trousers,  worn  one  over 
the  other.  Here  comes  an  officer  with 
a  round  hat  of  a  lacquered  stuff,  upon 
which  are  painted  in  gilt  the  arms  of  the 
daimio  in  whose  service  he  is.  His  car- 
riage is  majestic :  two  very  long  sabres 
hang  from  his  belt.  He  wears  a  coat 
with  sleeves  two  feet  and  a  half  wide, 
and  having  an  opening  in  the  back 
which  runs  almost  up  to  the  shoulders, 
through  which  the  sabres  pass.  On  the 
back  of  this  garment  are  embroidered 
the  arms  of  his  lord,  hieroglyphics  or 
flowers  in  red,  yellow,  blue  or  green, 
contained  in  a  circle  about  a  foot  in  di- 
ameter. From  his  belt  hangs  suspended 
the  complicated  apparatus  of  a  smoker 
— a  pipe  with  a  metallic  bowl  about  the 
size  of  a  child's  thimble,  a  tobacco-bag 
of  leather-paper,  with  matches  and  other 
appliances.  Every  two  or  three  minutes 
he  fills  his  little  pipe  with  a  pinch  of  his 
tobacco,  lights  it,  takes  one  or  two  whiffs, 
and  the  pipeful  is  smoked.  On  his  feet 
he  wears  blue  stockings,  with  a  separate 
compartment  for  the  great  toe,  and  over 
these  sandals  of  plaited  straw,  held  on 
by  two  bands  which  are  adroitly  held  by 
the  great  toe  as  though  it  were  a  thumb. 

Here  comes  the  escort  of  some  prince 
—  mounted  guards,  covered  with  armor- 
ial embroideries,  and  each  with  two  sa- 
bres. They  ride  on  decorated  saddles, 
shaking  their  reins,  which  are  large 
scarfs  of  some  blue  stuff.  The  crowd 
divides  before  them,  all  the  spectators 
prostrating  themselves  on  the  ground. 

The  costumes  are  various.  Many 
people  wear  only  a  pair  of  sandals,  and 


a  strip  of  white  cloth  about  the  loins. 
Many  are  tattooed  from  head  to  foot 
with  all  sorts  of  figures,  dragons,  war- 
riors, women,  in  the  most  brilliant  colors, 
which  stand  out  in  striking  relief  on 
their  yellow  skins.  Some  carry  "ka- 
gos"  or  "  norimons,"  a  sort  of  basket, 
which  serves  for  the  Japanese  cab,  and 
in  which  the  traveler  buries  himself. 
Others  push  heavy  chariots  with   solid 


A   BETTO    OR    RUNNING    GROOM. 

wheels,  keeping  time  with  the  most  in- 
credible cries.  Then  there  are  fruit- 
sellers,  carpenters  and  mechanics  of  all 
kinds,  clothed  generally  with  only  a 
short  jacket  of  calico,  on  the  back  of 
which  is  painted  in  large  Japanese  cha- 
racters an  inscription  indicating  either 
the  trade  of  the  wearer  or  the  lord  whose 
serf  he  is. 

The  streets  of  Yokohama  are  wide  and 
straight.  Each  house  is  built  of  wood, 
without  an  atom  of  paint,  and  is  a  real 
toy-house,  a  genuine  Liliputian  Swiss 
chalet,  built  with  a  taste,  a  nicety  and  a 
neatness  which  are  admirable.  The 
Japanese  are  wonderful  workers  in  wood, 


COUNT  DE   BEAU  VOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


223 


and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  see  the  roofs,  so 
light  and  yet  so  strong,  supported  by 
walls  which  are  made,  like  the  side- 
scenes  in  a  theatre,  of  thin  strips  of 
wood,  over  which  are  pasted  sheets  of 
a  cottony,  transparent  paper.  In  the 
evenings,  when  the  lanterns  dispense 
rheir  soft  light  round  the  inside  of  these 


INARAiA,   A   JAPANESE   YOUNG   WOMAN. 

white  buildings,  the  spectator  seems  to  be 
looking  at  a  magic-lantern.  During  the 
daytime  the  sides  of  the  houses  are 
slipped  out,  as  side-scenes  are,  and  the 
house  becomes  only  a  roof  resting  on 
the  four  light  corner  posts,  the  whole  in- 
terior being  thus  opened  to  the  air.  Ev- 
er)- part  of  the  house  is  exposed  to  view, 
and  everything  done  in  it  can  be  seen, 
while  behind  it  appear  the  charming 
verdure,  the  cascades  and  the  diminutive 
plantations  of  the  little  gardens  situated 
in  the  rear. 

The  great  luxury'  of  the  Japanese  con- 
sists in  their  mats  made  of  plaited  straw. 
They  are  perfectly  rectangular  in  shape, 
about  three  inches  thick,  and  soft  to  the 


touch.  They  are  never  stepped  on  with 
shoes,  since  the  Japanese  go  about  their 
houses  always  barefooted.  Of  furniture 
they  have  next  to  nothmg :  a  small  fur- 
nace in  one  corner,  a  closet  made  of 
side-scenes  like  the  sides  of  the  house, 
and  intended  to  contain  the  mattresses,  a 
small  set  of  shelves  on  which  are  ar- 
ranged the  lacquered  plates  for  rice  and 
fish, — this  is  all  the  furnishing  for  these 
houses,  in  which  they  live,  as  it  were,  in 
the  open  air.  In  the  middle  of  each 
house  are  two  articles  of  general  use 
among  all  classes — the  "chitat"  and  the 
"tobacco-bon  ;"  that  is,  a  brazier  and  the 
box  for  tobacco.  Being  great  tea-drink- 
ers, great  smokers  and  great  talkers,  the 
Japanese  pass  their  days  around  the 
brazier :  there  they  can  be  seen  in  groups 
of  seven  or  eight,  seated  on  their  heels 
around  the  tea-kettle. 

In  every  shop  our  travelers  visited  they 
were  received  with  a  distinction  and  po- 
liteness which  surpassed  even  the  pro- 
verbial manners  of  their  native  country. 
In  walking  through  the  city  they  passed 
through  the  street  of  baths.  In  Japan, 
where  every  one  lives,  as  it  were,  in 
public,  the  costume  of  our  first  parents 
in  no  way  shocks  the  sentiments  of  the 
people,  who  in  this  matter  may  be  con- 
sidered as  still  in  the  Golden  Age.  This 
street  is  filled  with  bath-houses,  to  which 
the  population  resort,  many  of  them 
twice  or  thrice  a  day.  Here  all  sexes, 
ages  and  conditions  mingle,  fifty  to  sixty 
at  a  time  in  each  bath-house.  The  pass- 
er-by sees  them  crouched  down  or  dan- 
cing on  an  inclined  plane,  surrounded  by 
pyramids  of  small  tubs  made  of  copper 
and  filled  with  hot  water.  Here  they 
sprinkle  and  soap  each  other.  Attracted 
by  the  sight  of  the  travelers,  they  come 
to  ask  "the  noble  strangers"  politely  for 
a  cigarette. 

A  woman  seller  of  dry  goods  invited 
the  party  to  enter  her  shop  and  seat 
themselves  upon  the  mats.  This  was 
for  her  a  great  honor,  and  as  the  party 
entered  she  saluted  them  by  bowing  until 
her  forehead  touched  the  floor,  then  offer- 
ing them  tea  in  small  cups,  she  brought 
out  tobacco  for  their  pipes,  and  present- 
ed lighted  coals  held  between  two  chop- 


224  COUNT  DE   BEAUVOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


sticks.  "  I  cannot  hope,"  writes  the  count, 
"  to  express  to  you  all  the  elegance  of  this 
woman  of  the  people  in  her  slightest 
movements :  her  features  expressed  the 
most  simple  womanly  affability  as  her 


habitual  condition.  Well,  in  whatever 
house  you  may  enter  you  will  be  treated 
with  the  same  distinction :  v/e  were  almost 
stupefied  to  find  it,  and  confessed  that  this 
people  can  rightly  call  us  barbarians.     I 


BRUNZE   SIATUE   OF   DAIBOUTS    AT   KAMAKOURA. 


have  not  seen  a  single  fight  or  dispute  in 
the  streets  :  all  the  men,  in  saluting  each 
other  with  profound  bows,  wear  a  smile 
upon  their  lips ;  and  when  we  desire  to 
appear  amiable  we  are  awkward  and  ill- 


bred  in  comparison  with  these  Japanese, 
who  are  gracious  without  thinking  of 
being  so.  Among  them  a  man  who  gives 
way  to  his  anger,  or  shows  it  in  his  tone 
or  words,  is  avoided  by  his  kind  as  unfit 


COUNT  DE  BEAUVOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND   CALIFORNIA. 


225 


for  society.  Thus,  when  at  first  our  ple- 
nipotentiaries in  the  diplomatic  confer- 
ences became  animated,  the  Japanese 
said,  '  Let  us  put  off  this  matter  for  an- 
other day :  we  cannot  treat  with  those 
who  are  not  masters  of  themselves.'  " 

For   a   trip    into   the   country   ponies 
were  hired,  each  of  which  was  accom- 


A   YAKONINE    (JAPANESE   OFFICERj. 

panied  by  a  "betto"  or  groom,  who  ran 
by  the  side  of  the  horse  the  whole  way. 
The  road  ran  between  rice -fields,  the 
frequent  ditches  between  which  were 
covered  with  small  bridges  of  bamboo. 
The  "betto"  of  the  count  was  named 
"Aramado."  During  the  whole  of  the 
journey  he  kept  up  on  foot  with  the 
horse,  warning  him  by  a  sharp  cry  of 
any  difficult  place  in  the  road.  At  set- 
ting out,  Aramado's  costume  was  su- 
perb :  a  bright  blue  coat  with  immense 
sleeves,  and  a  tight  pair  of  pantaloons. 
As  he  ran  through  the  rice-fields,  his 
sleeves  flying  in  the  wind,  he  looked  like 
15 


an  enormous  blue  butterfly.  Piece  by 
piece,  however,  as  he  warmed  up  with 
his  course,  he  took  off  his  garments, 
until  he  was  clothed  in  only  a  pair  of 
stockings  and  his  scarlet  tattooing,  rep- 
resenting a  combat  between  a  woman, 
some  large  birds  and  a  serpent.  The 
"betto"  of  the  count's  companion  was 
even  more  singularly  decorated. 
Though  absolutely  naked,  he  was 
clothed.  His  tattooing  repre- 
sented a  blue  jacket  with  white 
buttons  and  red  seams,  with  a 
coat -of- arms  in  scarlet  in  the 
middle  of  his  back,  and  a  pair 
of  trousers  in  black  and  white 
squares. 

Ascending  to  high  ground,  the 
view  became  very  fine.  On  the 
left,  at  a  distance  from  the  sea, 
rose  the  volcano  "Vries,"  with 
clouds  of  smoke  rolling  from  it ; 
on  the  right,  Foosiyama  (the 
sacred  mountain  —  the  "moun- 
tain without  an  equal"),  its  top 
covered  with  snow.  This  moun- 
tain dominates  all  Japan,  and  is 
revered  as  a  divinity.  The  per- 
fect regularity  of  its  cone  shape 
is  familiar  to  those  of  our  readers 
who  have  e.xamined  any  speci- 
mens of  Japanese  ware,  since  it 
is  very  frequently  represented  on 
all  sorts  of  utensils.  Perhaps  no 
people  in  the  world  are  more 
sensitive  to  the  beauties  of  Na- 
ture than  the  Japanese :  ever}'- 
where  throughout  the  country 
where  there  is  a  fine  view,  or 
where  a  fine  tree  offers  an  opportunity 
for  a  retreat  in  the  shade,  even  in  the 
paths  most  unfrequented,  will  be  found 
a  tea-house,  a  light  cabin  with  a  thatched 
roof  and  paper  sides,  with  soft  mats 
spread  round  the  brazier  used  for  boiling 
tea  or  rice.  Here  there  was  one,  where 
the  daughters  offered  our  travelers  tea 
and  rice  in  small  cups,  while  their  mother 
brought  tobacco,  and  coals  in  the  bra- 
zier. Other  travelers  stopped  for  refresh- 
ment, and  here,  as  all  along  the  road, 
the  party  was  surprised  at  the  politeness 
and  amiability  of  the  people  they  met. 
The  route  continued  picturesque  and 


2  26  COUNT  DE   BEAUVOIR   IN   JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


beautiful  along  the  course  of  a  brook 
with  cascades,  and  through  groups  of 
trees  and  hedges  of  camellias,  azaleas, 
and  other  plants  in  full  flower.  Finally, 
coming  to  the  coast,  after  a  ride  along  a 
fine  beach  the  sacred  isl- 
and of  Inosima  was  reach- 
ed. This  is  an  immense 
volcanic  rock  shaped  like 
a  gigantic  mushroom. 
There  are  steps,  but  no 
roads,  to  ascend  it,  and  it 
is  filled  with  temples,  to 
which  crowds  of  native 
pilgrims  resort  carrying 
wallets  and  wearing 
cockle-shells.     The  priests  .  -  _ . 

of  the  sanctuary  dislike 
foreigners,  so  that  the  par- 
ty was  struck  with  meet- 
ing, instead  of  the  smiles 
of  an  hour  before,  the  hos- 
tile faces  of  the  shaved 
priests  muttering  prayers, 
with  the  expression  of 
stupidity,  insolence  and 
laziness  which  comes  from 
the  conscious  possession 
of  an  undisputed  and  un- 
deserved power.  To  the 
centre  of  the  island  runs 
a  grotto  over  five  hun- 
dred feet  long,  at  the  foot 
of  which  is  an  altar  bril- 
liantly lighted  and  sur- 
rounded with  the  pious  offerings  of  thou- 
sands of  visitors. 

Returning  to  Yokohama,  they  visited 
on  the  way  the  temple  of  Pleasure  near 
the  city  of  Kamakoura.  This  is  one  of 
the  largest  temples  in  Japan,  and  is  visit- 
ed yearly  by  thousands  of  pious  pilgrims. 
Continuing  their  way  through  trimmed 
hedges  of  camellias  and  azaleas  thirty 
feet  high,  they  came  to  the  bronze  statue 
known  as  the  Daibouts  or  Daibutz.  This 
statue  is  fifty  feet  high,  and  represents 
Booddha  sitting,  in  the  Oriental  manner, 
on  a  lotus.  It  is  ninety-six  feet  in  cir- 
cumference at  the  base,  and  is  raised  on 
a  pedestal  five  or  six  feet  high.  The  in- 
tention of  the  artist  was  to  represent 
Booddha  in  Nirvana,  or  the  state  of  utter 
annihilation   of   external   consciousness 


wliich  is  to  be  gained  only  through  ages 
of  purification  by  transmigration.  The 
attainment  of  this  condition  is  the  great 
promise  held  out  to  the  faithful,  and  has 
for  more  tlian  twentv  centuries  been  the 


THE   COLONEL   OF   THE   ESCORT. 


guiding  hope  of  countless  millions  of 
human  beings.  The  face  of  the  statue 
is  of  the  Hindoo  type,  and,  with  the  at- 
titude, is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
artist's  conception.  All  visitors  agree 
that  it  is  an  exceptionally  fine  realization 
in  art  of  a  profoundly  abstract  religious 
conception.  The  small  knobs  upon  the 
head  are  intended  to  represent  the  snails 
which,  according  to  tradition,  came  to 
protect  Booddha  from  the  heat  of  the  sun. 
The  statue  was  made  about  six  hundred 
years  ago,  being  cast  in  sections,  and 
joined  so  artistically  that  the  seams  are 
hardly  to  be  seen.  It  is  said  that  a  tem- 
ple formerly  enclosed  it,  but  was  destroy- 
ed by  an  earthquake.  Being  hollow,  it 
has  a  temple  inside  of  it  which  the  party 
entered,  and  were  offered  by  a  priest  for 


COUNT  DE  BEAUVOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND   CALIFORNIA.  227 


two  cents  a  copy  of  the  statue,  which  he 
guaranteed  as  a  cure  for  all  possible 
maladies,  past,  present  or  future. 

In  the  construction  of  their  houses, 
the  Japanese,  unlike  most  buildeis,  begin 
with  the  roof.  This  is  built  on  the  ground, 
and  when  framed  is  covered  with  small 
shingles  about  the  size  of  two  lingers,  as 
thin  as  a  sheet  of  paper.  When  it  is 
finished  they  raise  it  on  four  corner- 
posts.  The  sides  are  then  slipped  in 
grooves,  and  the  house  is  finished  with- 
out the  use  of  a  single  nail.  The  danger 
of  earthquakes  is  a  reason  for  not  using 
more  solid  material.  The  mats  furnish 
the  scale  on  which  the  houses  are  con- 
structed. These  mats  are  always  made 
rectangular,  measuring  six  feet  by  three : 
the  houses,  therefore,  are  constructed  for 
si.x,  twelve,  eighteen  or  twent)-four  mats, 
and  when  finished  are  masterpieces  of 
neatness  and  elegance. 

The  Tokaido  is  a  long  road  which  runs 
along  the  whole  length  of  Niphon,  the 
chief  island  of  the  empire,  from  Nan- 
gasaki,  the  south-western,  to  Hakodadi, 
the  north-eastern  extremity.  On  this 
road  specimens  of  every  class  of  Japan- 
ese society  are  met — princes  and  prin- 
cesses traveling  in  norimons ;  pilgrims 
on  their  way  to  shrines  ;  tattooed  porters 
bearing  burdens  hung  from  each  end  of 
a  bamboo  stick  supported  on  the  shoul- 
ders ;  men  and  women  of  all  ranks  and 
conditions.  The  post-office  is  a  most 
flourishing  institution :  the  distribution 
of  the  letters  is  performed  by  men  who 
go  upon  a  trot,  wear  nothing  to  impede 
their  course,  and  carry  their  letters  tied 
in  a  bundle  on  a  stick  swung  over  the 
shoulder.  Relays  are  stationed  at  every 
third  village,  and  the  distribution  is  car- 
ried on  day  and  night.  The  Japanese 
are  great  letter-writers,  sending  polite 
congratulations  to  each  other  from  one 
end  of  the  empire  to  the  other,  simply 
from  amiability,  and  without  any  pre- 
tence of  business.  It  is  considered  a 
great  accomplishment  to  write  a  good 
hand,  as  well  as  to  express  one's  self 
elegantly.  A  well-written  sentence  is 
frequently  admired  almost  like  a  work 
of  art. 

Having  secured   a  safe-passport  and 


been  furnished  with  a  guard,  the  party 
set  out  for  Yeddo.  The  escort  consisted 
of  ten  "yakonines,"  wearing  flat,  round 
hats  of  gilt  lacquered  ware  on  the  top 
of  the  head,  looking  like  dessert  plates, 
two  sabres  passed  through  their  girdles, 
and  the  backs  of  their  coats  embroidered 
with  the  arms  of  the  Taikoon.  Their 
pantaloons  were  large  and  made  of  col- 
ored silk,  while  on  their  feet  they  wore 
straw  sandals  and  long  spurs  made  of 
bronze.  Wide  scarfs  served  as  reins  for 
their  horses,  whose  manes  were  cut 
short.  At  the  gate  of  each  town  was  a 
house  decorated  with  flags,  in  which 
were  seated  four  men  writing  the  names 
of  all  passers,  with  the  object  and  extent 
of  their  trip,  and  collecting  the  duties, 
which  are  laid  upon  everything. 

At  Meiaski  the  party  rested  at  a  tea- 
house, where  they  were  served  by  thirty- 
six  young  girls.  The  decorations  of  this 
house  were  wonders  of  art,  it  havinsf 
just  before  served  as  a  stopping-place 
for  the  Taikoon  in  one  of  his  visits  to 
the  town.  The  garden  in  the  rear  was 
an  admirable  specimen  of  Japanese  skill 
and  taste  in  these  matters.  It  seemed 
like  a  fairy  park  looked  down  upon  from 
an  eminence  through  a  reversed  opera- 
glass.  Forests  of  small  purple  or  dark- 
green  trees  stretched  out  their  petty 
branches  round  ponds  of  red  goldfish ; 
Liliputian  paths  wound  through  pigmy 
lawns,  crossing  rills  and  bridges  of  turf 
large  enough  for  the  comfortable  pas- 
sage of  a  rat ;  while  towers  and  summer- 
houses  of  proportionate  size  enlivened 
the  landscape. 

In  Yeddo  the  party  stayed  at  the 
French  legation,  an  immense  square 
building,  divided  into  corridors  and 
chambers  by  some  fifty  double  lines  of 
such  side-scenes  as  the  Japanese  use  for 
the  partitions  and  walls  of  their  houses. 
Yeddo  being  filled  with  the  nobility, 
who  are  hostile  to  the  introduction  of 
foreigners,  it  was  injudicious  to  leave  the 
legation  without  the  escort.  One  of  the 
first  things  done  after  their  arrival  at  the 
capital  was  to  visit  the  temple  of  Atango- 
Yahma,  which  stands  on  a  mountain 
outside  of  the  city.  Having  arrived  at 
the  top  of  the  hill,  a  flight  of  a  hundred 


128 


COUNT  DE    BEAUVOIR    IN   JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


granite  steps  led  to  a  terrace  presenting 
a  view  of  the  whole  city,  which  looked 
like  a  park  so  large  that  the  eye  could 
not  discern  its  limits.     The  sea  washes 


one  side  of  the  city,  and  a  river  runs 
through  it,  while  the  undulations  of  the 
thirty  hills  upon  which  it  is  built  give  it 
a  unique  appearance. 

i] 


ONE  OK  THE  GIANT  TREES  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  CALAVERAS. 


Yeddo  consists  of  three  cities:  "Siro," 
the  palace  of  the  Taikoon;  "Soto-Siro," 
the  palaces  of  the  daimios;  and"Midzi," 
the  city  for  trade.  Siro,  which  is  about 
five  miles  in  circumference,  appears  like 


an  immense  citadel  surrounded  with 
terraced  lawns,  that  descend  to  lakes 
and  circular  canals.  More  than  thirty 
bridges  of  granite  unite  this  residence  of 
the  Taikoon  with  the  city  of  the  daimios. 


COUNT  DE   BEAUVOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


229 


which  contains  more  than  three  thousand 
palaces.  Soto-Siro  differs  also  from  other 
Japanese  cities  in  being  built  entirely  of 
stone.  There  is  not  a  single  wooden 
house  in  it.  The  general  style  of  the 
architecture  is  simple  and  severe,  each 
house  being  a  large  rectangle,  built  of 
white  and  black  stones,  and  surrounded 
like  a  fortress  with  a  ditch  fed  from  a 
running  stream.  The  mansions  are  the 
official  residences  of  the  daimios,  who 
during  the  continuance  of  the  feudal 
system  were  obliged  to  reside  in  them 
one  year  out  of  e\'ery  three  when  they 
came  to  Yeddo  to  pay  their  homage  to 
the  Taikoon.  There  were  eighteen  dai- 
mios of  divine  descent,  three  hundred 
and  forty-four  created  by  the  Taikoons 
during  the  last  two  centuries,  and  nearly 
ei^htv  thousand  "hattamothos,"  or  great 
captains  and  knights.  On  their  visits  to 
Yeddo  these  daimios  were  accompanied 
by  their  harems,  their  official  suites  and 
their  troops.  Each  of  them  tried  to  sur- 
round himself  with  as  brilliant  a  cortege 
as  possible,  and  brought  with  him  from 
eight  to  nine  hundred  persons  in  his 
train.  It  may  be  imagined  what  a  dis- 
play of  luxurious  ostentation  Yeddo 
aftorded  on  these  occasions,  especially 
since  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Taikoon 
to  stimulate  each  display,  in  order  that 
he  should,  by  eclipsing  all  his  vassals, 
maintain  his  ascendency  over  them. 

Perhaps  no  feudal  system  in  Europe 
was  ever  more  eftective  than  that  of 
Japan  in  its  flourishing  days.  The  land 
was  partitioned  out  among  the  daimios, 
who  organized  its  culture  by  their  serfs. 
The  crops  that  were  raised  the  daimio 
bought  at  a  price  fixed  by  himself,  and 
when  the  serfs  required  food  they  bought 
back  from  him  such  quantities  as  they 
needed  at  another  price,  fixed  also  by 
himself.  The  difterence  constituted  the 
revenue  of  the  daimios.  At  present 
many  of  the  palaces  in  Soto-Siro  are 
nearly  deserted,  and  the  number  of  res- 
ident daimios  is  by  no  means  what  it 
formerly  was.  Still,  the  streets  are  ani- 
mated, and  our  party  was  greatly  inter- 
ested in  passing  through  them.  The 
view  in  one  of  the  streets  passing  from 
Soto-Siro  to  the  trading  portion  of  Yeddo 


was  very  striking.  Rows  of  granite 
walls  divided  the  parks  of  the  palaces 
from  the  street,  and  immediately  above 
them  rose  hedges  from  six  to  thirty  or 
forty  feet  high,  admirably  trimmed,  and 
formed  of  camellias,  azaleas  and  laurels 
in  full  bloom,  while  the  sacred  birds, 
with  their  white  plumage,  made  a  scene 
as  brilliant  as  anything  in  Fairyland. 
Passing  along  this  road,  the  party  met 
the  escort  of  a  prince.  He  was  preced- 
ed by  heralds  dressed  in  blue  and  arm- 
ed with  wooden  swords  to  keep  off  the 
crowd.  Then  came  a  whole  procession 
of  soldiers,  with  falconers,  damsels  and 
pages,  escorting  the  lacquered  "nori- 
mon  "  carried  by  eight  men,  in  which 
His  Highness  sat  with  his  legs  crossed 
and  a  sword  sticking  about  two  feet  out 
of  the  window  on  each  side. 

The  trading  city  was  full  of  life  and 
bustle,  while  the  streets  were  so  neat  that 
they  looked  more  like  the  paths  in  a  park 
than  the  thoroughfares  of  a  busy  city. 
Great  precautions  are  taken  against  fire. 
At  the  chief  points  wooden  towers  are 
built,  provided  with  bronze  bells  to  sound 
the  alarm.  Almost  every  house  has  a 
pump  arranged  to  work,  and  about  fifty 
steps  apart  are  hogsheads  hooped  with 
copper  and  filled  with  water. 

The  Japanese  government  having 
granted  to  our  party  the  privilege  of 
visiting  the  garden  of  the  imperial  resi- 
dence, the  opportunity  was  seized  with 
avidity.  This  was  only  the  third  time 
that  such  a  favor  had  been  granted  to 
Europeans.  The  garden  was  a  splen- 
did specimen  of  Japanese  skill  and  taste. 
There  were  walks,  ponds  filled  with  bril- 
liantly plumaged  aquatic  birds,  trees 
with  variously  colored  foliage,  kiosques, 
tea-houses,  appliances  for  hunting,  for 
music  and  dancing — in  short,  everything 
to  charm  or  amuse. 

Among  the  temples  of  Yeddo,  the 
most  striking  was  one  called  "The  abode 
of  thirty-three  thousand  three  hundred 
and  thirty -three  divinities."  Another, 
dedicated  to  the  god  of  toothache,  was 
remarkable  for  the  rites  practiced  in  it. 
The  sufferer  who  seeks  the  agency  of  the 
god  in  his  distress  pays  his  contribution 
and  receives  a  slip  of  paper.     This  he 


23©  COUNT  DE   BEAUVOIK   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA 


chews  assiduously  until  it  becomes  in  his 
mouth  perfectly  plastic,  and  then,  rolling 
it  into  a  ball  between  his  fingers,  he 
throws  it  at  one  of  the  pictures  which 
hang  suspended  high  on  the  wall.     The 


skill  of  the  Japanese  enables  them  more 
generally  to  hit  their  target  than  our 
boys  do  when  in  country-  school-houses 
they  engage  in  a  somewhat  similar  diver- 
sion, and  the  devout  worshiper  goes  away 


cured  of  the  pam  which  brought  him 
there. 
At  the  arsenal  our  party  were  astonish- 


voir  mentions  Da-Keda  (or  Takedaj  as 
the  designer.  This  ingenious  officer 
had   studied  Dutch,  and  with  the  help 


ed  to  see  the  rifled  cannon  and  guns  \  of  a  Dutch-Japanese  and  an  English- 
made  by  the  natives  with  machinery  Dutch  dictionary  had  so  mastered  Bow- 
of  their  own  construction.     M.  de  Beau 


ditch's  Navigator  as  to  be  able  to  calcu- 


COUNT  DE   BEAU  VOIR   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


231 


late  longitude  from  an  eclipse.  Mr. 
Pumpelly,  who  was  employed  by  the 
Japanese  government  to  improve  the 
working  of  their  mines,  had  this  Japan- 
ese gentleman  attached  to  his  suite,  and 
tells  this  fact  concerning  him ;  adding, 
"  But  this  knowledge  was  purely  mechan- 
ical, and  mathematics  from  a  philosoph- 
ical point  of  view  was  a  new  field  to  him, 
though  when  he  took  them  up  in  this 
spirit  he  exhibited  for  the  study  a  mental 
power  which  1  almost  envied  him." 

Returning  to  Yokohama,  the  party  by 
special  permission  was  allowed  to  visit 
the  sacred  mountain  Foosiyama,  and 
the  sacred  city  Hakoni,  situated  at  its 
foot.  With  guides  and  an  escort  of  ya- 
konines,  and  provided  with  passports, 
they  set  out  on  horseback  along  the 
Tokaido.  Everywhere  the  countr}-  peo- 
ple received  them  with  most  amiable 
politeness,  while  the  views  of  the  coun- 
try were  superb.  The  hills  rose  to 
mountains  in  the  distance,  while  on  the 
other  hand  the  green  valleys  lay  spread 
before  the  eye,  with  precipices  and 
cascades,  rivers  and  virgin  forests,  an- 
cient temples,  rocks  covered  with  ver- 
dure, and  the  line  of  the  blue  sea  in  the 
distance.  The  houses  in  the  country' 
have  a  slight  covering  of  earth  on  the 
higher  parts  of  the  roofs,  where  lilies 
are  planted,  from  which  the  oil  is  made 
that  is  used  by  the  Japanese  women  in 
dressing  their  hair.  This  custom  origi- 
nated in  an  edict  by  the  Mikado  for- 
bidding the  use  of  the  "sacred  soil"  for 
any  plants  except  such  as  are  useful,  but 
giving  permission  to  plant  the  lilies  on 
the  housetops,  "since  they  give  beauty 
to  the  hair  of  women,  and  will  serve  as 
the  living  hair  of  the  paternal  roof" 

From  Hakoni  the  party  passed  on  to 
the  baths  of  Mionoska,  the  Baden-Bad- 
en of  the  Japanese  aristocracy,  a  village 
built  in  a  deep  valley  on  the  flank  of  a 
steep  mountain,  where  the  streets  are 
flights  of  granite  steps,  and  the  houses, 
in  the  midst  of  cascades,  seem  piled  on 
each  other.  The  baths  are  sulphur  ones, 
and  here  the  peculiar  want  of  conven- 
tionality common  in  Japan  was  again 
forced  upon  the  attention  of  our  trav- 
elers.    The  towels   offered    them    after 


bathing  were  small  sheets  of  a  cottony 
paper. 

Having  spent  somewhat  more  than  a 
month  in  Japan,  our  travelers  embarked 
on  the  Colorado  for  San  Francisco.  The 
Colorado  was  the  first  ship  placed  upon 
the  line  between  San  Francisco  and  Ja- 
pan. Her  beauty  of  model,  the  admi- 
rable appointments  for  the  comfort  of 
her  passengers,  and  the  fact  that  though 
she  was  a  ship  of  four  thousand  tons  her 
speed,  averaging  eleven  miles  an  hour, 
was  obtained  with  the  consumption  of 
only  thirty-five  tons  of  coal  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  were  matters  of  surprise.  In 
fact,  says  the  count,  "this  result  it  is  not 
possible  to  attain  with  our  engines." 

In  crossing  the  one  hundred  and 
eightieth  degree  of  longitude,  the  dupli- 
cation of  the  day — it  being  for  two  days 
the  third  of  June — called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  party  had  circumnavigated 
the  world,  and  had  seen  one  less  sun- 
rise than  those  who  had  remained  sta- 
tionary^ at  home.  The  first  sight  of  San 
Francisco,  for  our  party  so  fresh  from 
Japan,  was  one  of  disappointment.  "The 
earth,  the  houses,  the  sky,  all  seemed 
the  same  color,  while  the  city  looked 
yellow  and  mean.  The  hills  surround- 
ing it  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  burying 
it  under  clouds  of  dust  driven  by  the 
wind  through  the  streets."  The  contrast 
Avith  the  fresh,  beautiful  green  and  fairy 
coasts  of  Japan,  which  had  been  so  re- 
cently left,  produced  this  impression.  A 
visit  to  the  theatre,  however,  changed 
this  feeling.  "  In  this  hall  there  was  an 
elegance,  a  brilliancy,  the  indescribable 
perfume  of  civilization,  such  as  we  had 
no  idea  of" 

Though  in  haste  to  return  to  France, 
our  party  lingered  long  enough  to  visit 
the  Giant  Trees,  and  before  them  stood 
"  confounded."  "  Our  most  majestic  oaks 
in  France,  the  tallest  firs  of  the  Alps  or 
the  Pyrenees,  the  gum  trees  of  Australia, 
all  seem  like  dwarfs  in  their  shade. 
Here  they  are,  six  hundred  and  twelve 
of  them,  in  a  single  clump,  rising  like 
gigantic  columns  a  hundred  yards  high." 
A  few  days  were  spent  in  a  run  through 
the  mining  country  and  to  the  valley  of 


COUXT  DE   BEAUVOIK   IN  JAPAN  AND    CALIFORNIA. 


Calaveras,  where  is  another  group    of   |  without  the   bark   measures   eighty-one 
giant  trees,   ninety  in   number,  one  of  |  feet  round, 
which  furnished  its  bark  for  the  Crystal 
Palace.     It  is  dead,  but  stands  erect,  and 


The  structures  on  the  Pacific  railroad 
also  excited  our  travelers'  admiration  for 


';^||P|'f^^i^^;j(^^^^^ 


their  lightness,  solidity  and  strength. 
In  the  mining  region  of  Nevada  the  pro- 
cess at  the  Blue  Tent  Mine  was  so  new 
as  to  greatly  surprise  the  party.  This  is 
a  hydraulic  inine,  where  a  mountain- 
stream,  brought  down  in  pipes,  is  driv- 
en with  a  pressure  of  two  hundred  and 


seventy-five  feet  elevation  against  the 
mountain-side.  So  great  is  the  force  of 
the  stream  that  a  man  struck  by  it  would 
be  killed  instantly.  The  idea  of  using 
this  force  for  mining  purposes  seemed  to 
our  party  purely  American  in  its  bold- 
ness.     Two   or   three   men    suffice    for 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


233 


managing  the  operation,  and  in  a  day 
will  wash  down  twenty-five  hundred  tons 
of  gravel.  Other  methods  of  this  kind, 
on  a  larger  scale,  have  been  able  to  wash 
twenty  thousand  tons  in  the  same  time. 
Of  course  the  amount  of  work  done 
varies  with  the  conditions.  Sometimes 
groups  of  petrified  trees  are  uncovered, 
and  at  times  the  soil  is  so  dense  that  it 
comes  down  in  blocks  too  hard  to  be 
broken  except  by  the  use  of  powder. 
The  gravel  thus  loosened  is  then  carried 
to  a  canal,  with  mercury  in  troughs  placed 


in  the  bottom,  and  the  gold  is  absorbed 
by  the  mercury.  Every  month  the  work 
is  stopped,  and  the  amalgam  gathered 
and  the  gold  recovered  by  a  chemical 
process.  A  brief  visit  to  New  Alma- 
den,  where  the  second  richest  mercury- 
mines  known  are  worked,  then  occupied 
the  party.  Returning  to  San  Francisco, 
they  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and 
proceeded  to  New  York,  and  thence  to 
France,  thus  happily  completing  a  jour- 
ney round  the  world  from  east  to  west. 
Edward  How^land. 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


THE  regular  approach  to  Constanti- 
nople is  as  rich  in  historic  memories 
as  in  exquisite  scenery.  The  Danube 
is  such  a  "slow  coach,"  owing  to  its  im- 
peded navigation  and  its  inferior  steam- 
ers, that  all  the  world  takes  passage  by 
the  Dardanelles  ;  though  this  can  hardly 
have  been  the  case  with  the  Cockney 
traveler,  who,  when  asked  if  he  had  seen 
the  Dardanelles,  replied,  "Oh,  to  be  sure 
— I  breakfasted  with  them  in  Paris  !" 
Before  you  enter  this  renowned  strait 


the  Trieste  steamer  carries  }  Du  over  the 
route  of  the  greatest  of  the  apostles,  right 
under  Cyprus,  close  to  Crete,  perhaps  in 
the  teeth  of  that  Levant  hurricane,  the 
Euroclydon.  After  sailing  by  the  harbor 
of  Agamemnon's  fleet,  you  coast  the  low 
shore  of  Troy  and  see  the  mound  com- 
memorating Achilles,  delaying  a  mo- 
ment near  these  Dardanelles  forts, 
whose  immense  guns  have  been  so  fa- 
mous. Twelve  hours  more  of  steaming 
and  the  most  coveted  city  of   Europe 


234 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


looms  in  sight ;  as  with  all  Oriental  cit- 
ies distance  lending  enchantment  to  the 


ing  us  for  the  squalor  and  wretchedness 
within.     The  glory  of  the  scene  is  partly 


view,  and  the  outward  splendor  ill  prepar-      the  blending  of  colors,  partly  the  sur 


A    STREET   SCENE. 


passing  elegance  of  the  tall  minarets 
and  majestic  domes,  partly  the  Arabic 
and  Saracenic  architecture  of  many  a 
palace  lining  the  blue  waters ;  but  Na- 


ture herself  is  not  wanting,  and  there  are 
noble  mountains  for  a  background  on 
the  Asiatic  shore. 

The  Golden  Horn,  the  inner  harbor 


CONS  TANTINOPLE. 


235 


CONS  TANTINOPLE. 


richly  deserves  its  name.  The  com- 
merce of  the  world  could  be  sheltered 
there,  and  the  largest  frigate  land  its 
crew  on  the  solid  street.  Washed  clean 
by  the  flowing  "  Sweet  Waters,"  its  banks 
are  lined  on  one  side  with  arsenals,  bar- 
racks and  hospitals,  and  dotted  on  the 
other  with  pavilions  and  palaces.  On 
fine  days  a  fleet  of  gayly-painted  canoes 
will  carry  you  in  sight  of  the  Greeks' 
quarters,  the  West  End  of  Constandno- 
ple,  past  the  palace  of  the  sultan's  moth- 
er, the  famous  burial-place  of  Eyoub  and 
its  mosque,  until,  the  arm  of  the  sea 
contracting,  you  gradually  approach  the 
former  sultan's  summer-house,  the  graves 
of  his  more  renowned  horses,  and  the 
marble  kiosk  where  he  was  wont  to  smoke 
away  many  an  hour,  lulled  by  the  sound 
of  falling  water. 

Along  these  sloping  banks  picnics  are 
held  the  summer  long,  musical  enter- 
tainments are  given,  the  young  Greeks 
dance,  the  fragrant  coffee  is  sipped  from 
eggshell  cups,  the  time-killing  "hubble- 
bubble  "  is  smoked  by  rose-lipped  maid- 
ens, while  gentlemen  lose  themselves 
over  the  stronger  chibouque. 

Constantine  showed  genius  in  select- 
ing this  spot  for  the  imperial  city.  It  is 
the  bridge  of  two  continents,  the  conflu- 
ence of  two  seas,  the  union-point  of 
Grecian  and  Asiatic  arts  and  manners. 
It  towers  over  the  Bosphorus  on  seven 
hills,  each  hill  crowned  by  superb  build- 
ings, which  bear  aloft  the  waning  Cres- 


masses 


of 


cypress 


and 


cent  amidst 
orange  trees,  numerous  domes  rising 
over  baths  and  mosques,  the  flags  of  all 
nations  floating  around,  the  whitest  of 
minarets  piercing  the  heavens,  the  mix- 
ture of  traffic  and  pleasure  forming  a  far 
richer  scene  than  Rome  can  ever  have 
ottered. 

But  the  enchantment  vanishes  as  you 
draw  near.  Mouldering  city  walls,  over- 
srrown  with  the  rank  weeds  of  manv  cen- 
turies,  tell  the  story  of  twenty-seven  sieges 
and  three  captures :  vast  squares  are  pass- 
ed with  naked  chimneys  marking  where 
extensive  conflagrations  have  been,  and 
the  immense  cemeteries  are  filled  with 
half-ruined  monuments.  The  Turk  nev- 
c:  repairs  :  a  bending  minaret,  a  cracked 


dome,  a  broken  window,  a  leaning  wall, 
a  yawning  grave,  provokes  no  notice. 
Everywhere  decay  stares  one  in  the  face. 
Many  a  Mussulman  feels  it  to  be  the 
national  doom.  Often  the  streets  are 
cumbered  with  ruins.  Often  the  sacred 
cemeteries  or  the  "Sweet  Waters "  betray 
the  fallen  turbans  of  some  gilded  tomb. 
What  a  type  of  the  Ottoman  empire  1 
How  visibly  is  life  ebbing  away  from  its 
unburied  corpse !  How  that  fatalism 
which  is  the  backbone  of  its  faith  pledges 
the  dissolution  of  an  empire  which  no 
foreign  powers  will  again  combine  to 
uphold  ! 

So  I  believe ;  and  yet  I  admire  many 
traits  in  this  city's  life  :  its  honesty,  for 
instance.  Warrington  Smith  bought 
some  goods  of  a  Turkish  merchant  for 
seventy-five  piasters.  Such  was  the 
price,  but  the  Mussulman  had  expected 
to  be  beaten  down  half ;  so  when  he  de- 
livered the  bundle  he  returned  the  pieces 
he  had  intended  to  deduct  from  the  price. 
No  mosque  has  more  minarets  than  that 
of  Achmet ;  but  more  imposing  than  its 
architectural  grandeur  is  that  famous 
gallery  where  a  fabulous  amount  of  plate 
and  jewels  has  been  deposited  for  safe- 
keeping by  families  leaving  the  city, 
some  of  whom  have  fallen  victims  to 
the  cholera  or  plague.  No  iron  vault 
encloses  this  uncounted  heap  of  treasure, 
no  combination-lock  secures  its  door,  no 
sleepless  sentinel  forbids  access.  Noth- 
ing but  general  honesty  guards  it  from 
needy  sultans  or  famished  revolutionists. 
At  the  mosque  Suleiman  I  found  a  small- 
er illustration  of  the  same  hardy  virtue. 
The  door  was  open,  the  shrine  deserted  : 
there  was  no  one  to  betray  the  sexton  if 
he  took  my  bribe.  I  offered  four  times 
what  would  have  been  "open  sesame" 
to  any  Christian  church,  and  was  refused. 
I  honored  that  poor  sexton,  and  thought 
better  of  human  nature. 

Constantinople  is  the  most  temperate 
capital  of  its  size  in  the  world.  Spend- 
ing day  after  day  in  the  open  air,  wan- 
dering among  the  common  folk,  having 
at  one  time  several  people  in  my  employ, 
even  in  the  biting  air  before  daylight  1 
never  found  any  Turk  drinking  stronger 
beverag-e  than  coffee.     But  that  is  noth- 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


237 


ing  to  their  great  annual  fast.  During 
the  Ramadan,  which  hvsts  a  whole 
month,  from  sunrise  to  sunset  the  pant- 
ing boatman,  the  heavy-laden  porter 
will  touch  nothing  like  food,  not  even 
tobacco,  and  no  drink  whatever ;  and 
at  sundown  will  make  up  for  this  absti- 
nence not  by  a  drunken  carouse,  but  by 


a  larger  dish  of  pilau  and  a  longer  smoke 
of  Latakia.  To  be  sure,  temperance  is 
a  part  of  the  Turk's  religion,  but  is  it 
not  of  ours  ?  And  that  religion — an  im- 
posture as  we  call  it — has  something  very 
real  in  its  worship  at  four  in  the  morning 
the  year  round,  its  indifference  to  "  In- 
fidel"  gaze,  the  heartiness  of  all  its  ol)- 


DANCING    DERVISHES. 


servances,  the  severity  of  its  daily  self- 
denials.  Often  have  I  found  the  shop 
entirely  open  while  the  shopman  was  at 
his  prayers,  and  I  have  taken  up  the 
goods  to  see  if  anybody  would  remon- 
strate, and  laid  them  down  again  without 
anybody's  interference.  And  how  often 
have  I  watched  the  thin-clad  boatman 
kneeling  in  prayer  on  the  wet  sand  or  in 
drizzling  rain,  "the  world  forgetting,  by 


the  world  forgot"  !  To  be  sure,  there  is 
less  of  this  outward  piety  at  Constan- 
tinople than  where  Christians  are  less 
common,  but  it  is  a  character  of  the  re- 
ligion not  to  mind  being  sneered  at,  to 
feel  sustained  by  a  divine  sanction,  and 
lifted  far  above  the  criticism  of  men  by 
the  favor  of  Heaven. 

Hospitality  is  another  striking  feature 
of  the  Moslem  faith,  and  belongs  to  these 


238 


CONS  TANTINOPLE. 


patriarchal  lands.      Even  the  meanest 
village  provides  a  few  days'  shelter  for 


every   stranger   in    its    khan ;    fugitives 
from  every  nation  are  protected  by  en- 


THE   GRAND    BAZAAR. 


tering  its  territory ;  every  pasha  invites 
the  traveler  to  taste  his  coffee  and  smoke 
his  tobacco,  wishing  him  a  prosperous 
journey  and  offering  him  government 
protection.     And  if  this  does  not  mean 


much,  it  is  exceedingly  soothing  to  a 
spirit  chafed  by  disappointment,  fatigue, 
excessive   heat,  the   ever-besetting  ver- 
min.    It  gilds  the  chain  if  no  more. 
The  dervishes  I  take  to  be  an  emblem 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


239 


of  Mohammedanism.  Once  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Faithful,  their  decay  of 
fervor  is  apparent  enough.  Their  col- 
leges are  sometimes  deserted,  and  deser- 
tion in  Turkey  means  ruin.  Still,  their 
exercises  are  worth  looking  in  upon  any 
Friday  noon  after  the  mosque  service. 
The  Whirling  and  the  Howling  saints 
are  not  altogether  unlike.  After  some 
readings  or  recitations  from  the  Koran, 
performed  by  a  circle  of  wild-looking 
men,  some  of  them  exceedingly  old  and 
some  evidently  insane,  comes  among  the 
Whirlers  a  waltz,  each  performer  turning 
on  his  own  axis,  some  of  them  hundreds 
of  times,  without  getting  dizzy  or  falling 
from  fatigue.  The  Howlers,  on  the  other 
hand,  shout  the  name  of  Allah  ever  fast- 
er and  louder  as  the  music  gets  more  up- 
roarious, until  it  becomes  nothing  better 
than  the  bellowing  of  a  hound  :  then 
two  or  three  make  a  dive  at  the  bare 
walls,  striking  them  again  and  again 
with  the  naked  head,  until  somebody 
seizes  the  frenzied  fanatics  and  lays 
them,  just  breathing,  on  their  backs. 
Running  daggers  through  the  cheek  is 
still  done,  but  rarely,  because  the  heart 
of  a  ferocious  superstition  is  becoming 
death-chilled,  its  weekly  service  is  fossil- 
izing into  a  ceremony.  The  only  mys- 
tery is  why  an  iron  skewer  thrust  through 
and  through  the  mouth  should  do  no 
harm — the  butting  of  one's  head  against 
a  marble  block  leave  any  brains.  It 
must  be  that  the  excitement  sustains  the 
system — that  fervor  of  feeling  makes  up 
for  the  injury  done  to  the  frame. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  shops.  They 
are  funny  little  boxes,  with  one  half  of 
the  cover  turned  up,  the  other  half  laid 
down  as  a  counter.  The  purchaser 
stands  outside,  the  merchant  squats  with- 
in. No  goods  are  made  a  show  of;  there 
seems  to  be  no  anxiety  to  sell ;  no  anger 
at  having  everything  turned  topsy-turvy  ; 
no  offence  at  an  offer  of  just  half  the 
asking  price.  The  bazaars  are  collec- 
tions of  shopkeepers  in  some  particular 
branch — gloomy  sheds,  often  odorous, 
generally  dingy,  crowded  and  stupid. 
The  number  of  tobacco-pipe  merchants 
and  manufacturers  amazes  one  at  Con- 
stantinople as  at  Damascus.     An  amber 


mouthpiece  often  costs  hundreds  of  dol- 
lars :  the  long  cherry  t  ibe  is  beautifully 
wrought  in  gay  silks,  and  jewels  often 
glitter  along  the  sides,  because  the  pasha 
expects  to  pass  his  pipe  round  among 
his  visitors,  and  has  no  better  means  of 
displaying  his  wealth.  His  wife  cannot 
receive  strangers  and  make  her  parlor  a 
museum,  because  the  harem  is  forbidden 
ground  :  her  slippers  outside  the  door 
prevent  even  her  husband's  entrance  ; 
and  most  of  his  leisure  he  is  glad  to 
spend  anywhere  else  than  in  such  mo- 
notonous stupor.  A  genuine  Turk  sees 
hardly  any  Turkish  ladies :  he  never 
beholds  his  wife  till  after  marriage,  and 
does  not  commonly  marry  more  than 
one,  unless  he  is  some  grand  official  who 
is  expected  to  live  in  style.  He  never 
alludes  to  his  family  in  public,  or  ex- 
pects it  to  be  alluded  to :  to  ask  after 
madame's  health  would  be  the  worst 
insult.  The  French  ambassador's  wife 
succeeded  admirably  when  she  present- 
ed some  silks  to  Mrs.  Redschid  Pasha 
through  the  prime  minister,  by  saying, 
"  Please  accept  these,  sir  :  you  will  know 
how  to  use  them." 

Among  the  antiquities  are  some  cis- 
terns which  are  perfectly  gigantic.  That 
of  the  "thousand-and-one  columns,"  ex- 
aggerated from  a  quarter  of  that  number, 
would  alone  supply  the  city  with  water 
through  a  year's  siege,  but  it  is  now  a 
silk-factory,  exceedingly  cool  in  summer, 
and  as  decidedly  unhealthy.  It  has  play- 
ed some  part  in  politics  by  sheltering 
those  whom  a  change  of  dynasty  put  in 
danger  of  the  bowstring.  •  In  another  of 
these  cisterns  (perhaps  an  abandoned 
quarry)  there  is  water  enough  to  float  a 
boat ;  and  lives  have  sometimes  been 
lost  in  its  dark  recesses,  about  whose  ex- 
tent there  seemed  to  be  some  mystery. 

No  other  city  has  anything  like  such 
burial-grounds  for  immensity.  The  dead 
actually  occupy  more  ground  than  the 
living,  and  are  never  encroached  upon 
by  streets  or  buildings.  Huge  forests  of 
grand  old  cypresses  cover  millions  of 
marble  monuments  extending  back  four 
hundred  years.  Fortunately,  the  ground 
is  not  lost  to  the  public,  as  the  citizens 
have  no  dread  of  the  cemetery,  and  the 


!40 


CONSrANTIXOPLE. 


MOSQUE   OF   ST.    SOPHIA. 


gayety  of  its  decorations,  as  well  as  the 
beauty  of  its  position,  makes  it  a  precious 
breathing-place  for  the  city.  And  there 
is  something  noble  in  the  idea  of  per- 
fect repose — that  even  the  beggar  rests 
immovably  until  the  judgment  trump, 
sung  to  by  innumerable  birds,  cheered 
by  the  play  of  children,  greeted,  so  long 
as  any  friend  survives,  with  occasional 
flowers. 

The  solitary  stor}'  of  Turkish  super- 
stition which  reached  my  ears  was  of 
a  dervish  who  had  hid  himself  in  a  sul- 
tan's tomb  in  the  Eyoub  cemetery,  and 
who  cried  out  "Water!  water!"  as  a 
procession  marched  by.  He  meant  to 
practice  on  pious  credulity,  and  secure  a 
grant  of  money  for  prayers  over  the 
dead.     But   Mahmoud's  successor  was 


in  the  procession,  and  snuffed  up  the 
nonsense  at  once :  "  He  wants  water, 
does  he  .''  Well,  give  him  the  Bosphorus, 
then."  So  the  tomb  was  opened,  and 
soon  the  concealed  dervish  was  swim- 
ming for  life  in  the  cold  bath  he  had  so 
unexpectedly  earned. 

There  is  a  legend  of  the  capture  of 
the  city  by  the  Mussulmans  still  current 
and  still  credited.  A  priest  was  engaged 
in  his  morning  devotions  before  the  high 
altar  of  Saint  Sophia  when  the  fierce 
shouts  of  the  bloodthirsty  conquerors 
drove  him  to  a  side-altar,  where  he  car- 
ried the  sacred  vessels  and  continued 
the  service.  As  they  drew  near  the  walls 
opened  and  he  disappeared,  leaving  a 
promise  to  return  the  twenty-fourth  day 
of  May,    1864,  and    complete    the    un- 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


241 


finished  sacrifice  on  the  grand  altar  of 
Justinian. 

The  gentleman  failed  for  some  reason 
to  keep  his  appointment.  Moslem  wor- 
ship goes  on  still  under  that  Christian 
dome ;  the  Koran  is  read  there  instead 
of  the  Gospels ;  prayer  goes  up  daily  in 
the  name  of  the  Arabian  prophet,  in- 
stead of  the  Nazarene.  But  I  have  faith 
he  will  yet  come.  The  Russian  ava- 
lanche every  year  draws  nearer  to  Con- 
stantinople. The  czar's  hand  is  out- 
stretched to  seize  this  key  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. Through  the  weakness  of 
France  and  the  apathy  of  England  he 


is  certain  to  supply  his  most  urgent  want 
— is  bound  to  re-establish  his  Church  at 
its  ancient  fountain-head — is  summoned 
to  redeem  the  True  Faith  from  the  stain 
of  four  centuries  of  servitude.  It  is  only 
a  question  of  time.  Recent  reforms  in 
Turkey  have  chilled  the  people's  faith ; 
debts  have  accumulated  upon  the  pal- 
sied government's  hands ;  the  fanaticism 
which  was  its  life  has  grown  cold  as  a 
tombstone ;  the  mouldering  graves  which 
crowd  upon  the  living  in  the  imperial 
city  seem  to  cry  aloud,  "  Dust  unto  dust !" 
F,  W.  Holland. 


WANDERINGS    IN    PALESTINE. 


T 


HE  sun  was  sinking,  and  the  sur- 
-L  rounding  hills  were  steeped  in  the 
richest  purple,  when  I  joined  the  throng 
pouring  into  the  city  of  Jerusalem  by 
the  Damascus  gate.  Evidently  I  was 
an  object  of  curious  speculation  to  the 
groups  oi  fellahin  as  I  passed  within  the 
gate,  a  natural  result  of  my  being  un- 
attended and  yet  a  decided  Anglo-Saxon. 
My  only  traveling  companion  was  the 
mule  which  bore  me,  and  whose  persist- 
16 


ent  crawl  was  not  accelerated  even  by 
the  immediate  prospect  of  fodder  and 
rest.  My  naturally  fair  complexion  had 
become  tanned  by  exposure,  and  my  dark 
cloth  suit  had  arrived  at  the  shade  tech- 
nically called  pepper-and-salt,  through 
the  prolific  dust  encountered  upon  the 
road  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem.  Tourists 
are  always  in  a  party  and  accompanied 
by  attendants.  I  bore  all  the  appear- 
ance of  a  tourist,  and  yet  was  unattend- 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


ed  :  it  therefore  became  every  one's  busi- 
ness to  find  out  who  I   was,  whither  I 
was  going  and  whence  I  had  come ;  but 
I  passed  through  the  gossiping  crowd 
with  the  cahii  composure  of  my  country- 
men, and  left  the  fellahin  to  estabUsh 
my  nationahty  and  rank  to  their  own 
satisfaction.     To  be  without  attendants 
in  the  East  is  to  lose  prestige,  but  then 
prestige  is  a  perpetual  and  an  intoler- 
able burden      It  was  better  to  be  master 
without  prestige  than  to  be  the  servant 
of  a  dragoman  with  prestige.      If  you 
wish  to  travel  en  grand  seigneur,  you 
have  but  to  sign  a  contract  and  deliver 
your  purse   and   your  person  into  the 
hands  of  a  dragoman.     He  will  smooth 
away  all  difficulties  and  asperities ;   he 
will  be  the  mediator  between  "  Your  Ex- 
cellency" and  all  obstacles;  you  need 
have  no  care  as  to  what  you  shall  eat, 
where  you  will  sleep  or  what  you  shall 
pay.     The  dragoman  protects  you  from 
the  rapacity  of  others,  but  his  regard  for 
his  own  interest  is  generous  in  the  ex- 
treme.    He  will  answer  every  possible 
question   that   may   be    innocently  put 
to  him,  and  his  invention  is  boundless. 
But  once  in  his  hands  you  will  enjoy  the 
luxurious  slavery  of  a  prince,  for  you 
belong  to  him  and  he  nurses  you  with 
maternal  solicitude.     I  had  no  officious 
kawass  to  announce  my  coming  in,  and 
I   had  no  thieving  meki  to  delay  my 
going  out.     The  trip  from  Jaffa  to  Jeru- 
salem had  been  almost  without  incident, 
and  the  journeys  by  both  routes — Beth- 
horon  and  Gibeon,  and  by  Ramleh — 
have  been  often  described.     In  the  East 
the  roads  are,  as  a  rule,  optional  and  im- 
aginary, being  simply  magnified  sheep- 
walks,  although   to  Nazeef  Pasha,  the 
recently-recalled  governor  of  Jerusalem, 
must  be  awarded  the  credit  of  having 
established  a  turnpike-road  between  Jaf- 
fa and  Jerusalem  on  the  ancient  route 
repaired  by   Solomon.     I    allowed   my 
beast  to  take  his  own  course  and  creep 
along,  hoping  to  avoid  the  bands  of  en- 
thusiastic tourists  which  flock  along  the 
road  to  Jerusalem.    I  wandered  through  a 
series  of  groups  of  fellahin,  strange  fellow- 
travelers,  but  full  of  interest ;  of  Arme- 
nian traders,  Jews,  devotees,  pious  and 


unclean,  and  Arabs,  unclean  without  the 
recommendation  of  piety  ;  stragglers  of 
all  kinds  bent  on  trade,  and  many  with 
no  bent  at  all.     At  Ramleh  the  trains 
of  fruit-sellers  on  their  road  to  the  Holy 
City  overtook  me,  the  same  picturesque 
troupes  of  men  and  boys,  with  the  same 
trappings  and  packs,  as  the  caravans 
that  two  thousand  years  ago  went  up 
from  Ramleh  to  Jerusalem  laden  with 
fruit.     Although  the  modern  Ramleh  is 
but  a  collection  of  dilapidated  dwellings, 
yet  the  green  fields  and  orchards  which 
surround  it  perpetuate  its  ancient  proto- 
type.    But  the  charming  reverie  that  this 
scene  aroused  was  doomed  to  be  abrupt- 
ly interrupted  by  a  sudden  turn  of  the 
road,  bringing  me  in  full  view  of  an 
extensively-equipped   tourists'   encamp- 
ment.    Attendants  were  madly  rushing 
to  and  fro  carrying  dainty  dishes  into  a 
grand  marquee,  each  provided  with  a 
napkin  slung  over  the  arm,  in  emulation 
of  the  true  Parisian  style.     I  would  have 
fled   from   this   disenchantment  of  my 
dreams,  but  for  the  misfortune  of  being 
recognized  by  one  of  the  party  of  tour- 
ists, an  English  gentleman  who  remem- 
bered having   met   me   in   Alexandria, 
and  insisted  upon  my  joining  his  friends. 
I   was   forthwith   introduced  to  a  very 
agreeable  company  of  Englishmen,  army 
officers  on  leave  of  absence  from  the 
British  garrison  at  Malta.     These  luxu- 
rious   picnickers  had  established  quite 
an  encampment,  with  their  grand  tent 
and    tributary   cooking    and    servants' 
tents,  whilst  a  lynx-eyed  but  obsequious 
dragoman  administered  the  whole  with 
a  delicious  air  of  satisfaction.     With  the 
announcement   "Z^    souper    est    servi, 
messieurs,''  he  ushered  us  into  the  mar- 
quee, where  we  found  an  ample  table 
covered  with  a  swan-white  cloth,  upon 
which  an  elaborate  service  was  spread. 
Around   the   table    the   party   disposed 
themselves,   some    on    iron   bedsteads, 
others  on  camp-stools.     Imagine  dining 
a   la    Russe   in   the   land    of    Canaan ! 
The  anomaly  was  almost  too  much  for 
my  nerves,  and  this  recurred  to  me  with 
increasing  force  at  each  successive  pop 
of  the  champagne  corks.     I  glanced  fur- 
tively through  the  tent  door  and  looked 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


243 


out  into  the  distance  in  vain  for  my  pic- 
turesque fruit-sellers.  I  listened  for  the 
tinkling  of  their  mule-bells  in  the  hope 
of  catching  some  of  the  harmony  that 
my  present  situation  had  broken.  But 
all  in  vain :  the  evening  shades  had 
closed  rapidly  upon  the  scene,  and  noi- 
some petroleum  lamps  were  brought 
forth.  Through  the  vigilant  providence 
of  that  pink  of  all  courtesy,  the  drago- 
man, "cafe  noir  a  la  Turc"  was  served 
in  Parisian  porcelain  cups,  and  a  gen- 
eral parade  of  cigars,  meerschaums, 
hookahs  and  nargilehs  followed.  The 
attempts  to  matriculate  in  Eastern  styles 
of  smoking  were  laudatory  but  ridic- 
ulous, and  the  water-pipes  (nargilehs) 
gave  forth  bubble-bubble,  toil  and  trou- 
ble. Conversation  grew,  and  the  coffee 
suffused  the  most  delightful  temper 
through  the  company.  So  let  this  pic- 
ture of  happy  sociality  be  wrapped  up 
and  dissolved  in  the  curling  smoke  and 
evening  shade. 

At  early  dawn  I  parted  from  my  epi- 
curean hosts,  and  once  again  resumed 
my  journey  toward  the  Holy  City.  I 
had  not  proceeded  far  ere  I  overtook  a 
motley  caravan  straggling  along,  some 
members  of  it  walking  and  others  riding 
on  donkeys.  They  proved  to  be  Rus- 
sian pilgrims  on  their  way  to  the  shrines 
in  the  Holy  City.  I  recollected  their 
recent  arrival  in  a  Russian  steamer  at 
Jaffa.  Each  devotee  carried  at  his 
back  a  brass  kettle  for  tea-making, 
which  appeared  to  be  indispensable, 
from  the  large  supplies  of  really  fine 
Souchong  with  which  each  pilgrim  was 
provided.  They  steeped  tea  like  true 
connoisseurs  and  after  the  manner  of 
tea-merchants.  Spreading  some  leaves 
in  a  small  bowl,  they  poured  boiling 
water  from  their  brass  kettle  upon  them. 
Their  manner  of  drinking  this  decoc- 
tion struck  me  as  rather  original :  hold- 
ing the  bowl  of  tea  in  the  left  hand,  they 
scooped  up  a  handful  of  dirty-looking 
sugar  with  the  right ;  so  that  every  sip 
from  the  left  was  followed  by  a  munch 
from  the  right.  I  mingled  for  a  while 
among  these  Greek  devotees,  whom  I 
found  degraded  by  superstition  and  as- 
tonishingly ignorant.     One  of  their  num- 


ber, who  spoke  tolerable  French,  court- 
eously offered  me  a  bowl  of  tea,  but  I 
was  careful  to  decline  some  crunched 
sugar  proffered  by  a  hand  unwashed 
since  the  departure  of  its  owner  from 
Russia. 

In  pursuing  my  journey  I  was  after- 
ward met  by  other  travelers,  native  and 
foreign,  whose  salaatns  I  returned  with 
all  the  dignity  I  could  affect,  somewhat 
impaired  by  a  sense  of  the  absurdity  of 
going  through  all  the  flourishes  of  an 
Eastern  salutation  in  a  checked  cloth 
American  riding-suit.  The  dignified 
sweep  in  keeping  with  the  graceful  folds 
and  curves  of  the  Oriental  garb  is  im- 
possible in  the  tight-fitting  sleeves  and 
other  irregularities  of  European  dress. 
This  consideration  of  the  subject  of 
dress  led  me  to  reflect  upon  the  com- 
fortless and  inconvenient  character  of 
European  dress  in  the  East.  He  who 
would  carry  a  free  lance  there  must  give 
up  all  thraldom  to  national  dress  if  he 
would  avoid  persecution,  annoyance  and 
perpetual  payment  of  backsheesh.  I 
made,  therefore,  a  resolve  that  I  would 
at  once  cast  off  my  American  citizen's 
dress,  and  with  it  all  my  national  prej- 
udices. I  decided  to  become  "one  of 
them,"  to  see  with  their  eyes,  eat  from 
their  dish  and  sleep  under  their  tents. 
The  adoption  of  this  method  would,  I 
was  convinced,  introduce  me  to  much 
novel  e.\perience,  and  would  disclose  to 
me  original  material  for  observation 
which  would  be  shut  against  the  general 
traveler  who  did  not  thus  sink  his  indi- 
viduality. I  determined,  therefore,  to 
request  my  friend,  Haroun-er-Rhamond 
of  Jerusalem,  to  purchase  for  me  an  Ori- 
ental outfit,  habited  in  which  I  would 
proceed  on  my  wanderings  in  the  Jordan 
Valley. 

Once  within  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  I 
am  met  by  that  scene  so  often  described, 
that  strange  experience  to  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  a  foreigner — an  Oriental  city. 
The  fast-declining  light  rendered  the 
dark,  narrow  streets  almost  obscure. 
After  struggling  through  the  throng  of 
camel-drivers,  mule-teamsters  and  fel- 
lahin  unloading,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course    all    screaming    together,    I    ad- 


244 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


vanced  into  the  city  through  some  deep 
arched  streets,  saluted  at  intervals  by 
the  shriek  of  a  camel-driver  as  he 
swerved  his  huge  animal  down  some 
narrow  causeway,  while  the  sharp  bark 
of  the  ubiquitous  dogs  pierced  the  air 


above  the  indescribable  din  or  murmur 
of  sounds  that  rises  from  an  Eastern 
city  at  dawn  and  at  sundown.  The 
people  were  streaming  into  the  city  in 
anticipation  of  the  closing  of  the  gates. 
It  was  just  that  moment  when  an  East- 


.^•• 


CLOSING   THE   GATES. 


ern  city  arouses  from  its  normal  lethargy 
and  indulges  in  a  temporary  bustle.  But 
my  way  was  not  that  of  the  throng,  and 
I  turned  down  a  narrow,  gloomy  arched 
street,  on  doing  which  I  almost  fancied 
that  my  mule  quickened  his  pace,  but 


this  must  have  been  a  delusion.  Any- 
how, ere  I  had  checked  the  animal,  it 
pulled  up  suddenly  before  a  shabby, 
tumble-down,  low-arched  door,  built  in 
a  lofty  beetling  wall.  Whilst  alighting 
I  noted  that  the  din  of  the  city  had  now 


WANDERINGS    IN  PALESTINE. 


245 


mA 


Xiv^  .< 


< 
< 


('Mm;' vv^ 


246 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


subsided,  and,  except  the  howling  of 
the  dogs,  all  appeared  to  be  wrapped 
in  sudden  silence.  It  was  the  hour 
of  prayer.  Soon  my  ears  caught  the 
strains  of  the  ninczsins  singing  the 
"call  to  prayer"  from  the  balconies  of 
the  mudnehs  (minarets).  First  the  plain- 
tive voice  of  an  aged  singer  chanted  in 
murmuring  cadence  the  opening  exulta- 
tion :  "Al-la-hoo  ak-bar!  Al-la-hoo  ak- 
bar!"  ("God  is  great!  God  is  great!") 
This  strain  was  echoed  from  another 
minaret  by  a  rich  tenor  voice,  and  then 
from  the  tower  near  the  governor's 
house,  calling  the  faithful  to  prayer. 

Haroun-er-Rhamond,  I  knew,  was  a 
faithful  Moslem,  so  I  waited  until  the 
last  muezzin  had  finished  his  solo,  which 
he  did  with  a  grand  raleiitando.  I  found 
the  door  of  my  friend's  dwelling  closed, 
the  hole  of  the  lock  being  covered,  and 
the  cumbersome  cross-shaped  piece  of 
wood  that  has  done  service  for  a  lock 
from  time  immemorial  secured  for  the 
night.  I  banged  lustily,  shouting,  "Yah  ! 
yah!"  and  making  all  the  hullabaloo 
customary  in  the  East.  My  banging 
without  soon  called  forth  shoutings  with- 
in, and  after  sundry  explanations  and 
expletives  the  lock  was  drawn  and  the 
opening   disclosed.      The   cumbersome 


IflL'lllllillrlum. .1.. 


HAROUN   AT    PRAYER. 

wooden  door  turned  upon  its  creaking 
hinges,  and  a  lazy-looking  slave  ap- 
peared, to  whom  I  said,  "Go  tell  thy 
master  that  his  friend  the  Scribe  waits 
to  be  blessed  by  his   presence."      He 


salaamed  profoundly,  and,  leading  away 
my  mule,  motioned  toward  his  master, 
whom  I  observed  finishing  off  his  prayers 
with  the  concluding  rekah  or  prostration 
as  he  stood  in  a  recess  facing  the  east 
in  a  recumbent  position,  each  hand  rest- 
ing above  the  knee.  Then  falling  gently 
upon  his  knees,  he  turned  his  head  sol- 
emnly over  his  right  shoulder,  and  quick- 
ly gave  a  half  nod  "  over  the  left."  The 
Mohammedan  religion  teaches  that  there 
is  a  guardian  angel  at  each  shoulder, 
the  one  on  the  right  recording  the  good 
deeds,  whilst  the  one  on  the  left  takes 
down  the  evil  deeds. 

Whilst  Haroun  was  concluding  his 
reverent  genuflections  I  looked  around 
me,  and  indulged  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  strange  contrast  between  the  out- 
side and  inside  of  a  rich  man's  house 
in  the  East.  Without,  were  the  narrow 
gloomy  alley,  the  high  dreary  wall,  the 
clumsy  broken-down  door  that  would  be 
but  an  indifferent  entrance  to  a  pig-stye  ; 
within,  were  an  exquisitely  spacious  court 
paved  in  checkered  marble,  and  in  the 
centre  a  refreshing  fountain-basin,  whose 
jet  of  limpid  water  rose  and  fell  with  a 
soothing,  indolent  murmur.  In  the  rear 
was  the  Moresque-arched  corridor  or 
soofah,  overhanging  lattice  windows, 
carved  in  elegant  arabesque  tracery, 
rich  pendent  draperies  from  them  add- 
ing their  color  to  the  pleasing  picture. 
There  is  always,  to  me,  a  touch  of  en- 
chantment, a  glimpse  of  the  Arabian 
NigJits,  in  this  entrance  from  a  shabby 
causeway  to  Oriental  luxury.  Haroun, 
at  length  concluded  his  devo- 
chamber  with  a 
divan  at  one  end  :  he  had  been  inform- 
ed of  my  arrival,  and  awaited  my  en- 
trance. Eastern  life  may  be  compared 
to  still  water  that  is  occasionally  agitated 
by  a  stone  being  thrown  into  it :  there 
is  a  grand  splash,  perturbation,  bubbles, 
and  then  the  stagnant  water,  weighted 
by  its  weeds,  returns  to  its  normal  still- 
ness. The  Mohammedans  are  slaves  to 
form  and  punctilio,  and  the  dramatic 
fervor  of  the  Oriental,  which  is  exhibit- 
ed in  the  ordinary  actions  of  life,  has 
degenerated  into  tedious  theatrical  dis- 
play.    The  natural  and  spontaneous  ac- 


having 


tions,   entered  a  long 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


247 


tions  of  life  are  directed  by  a  religious 
regime,  and  habits  of  antiquity  that 
would  now  be  obsolete  anywhere  else 
are  jealously  retained  and  dignified  into 
religious  ritual.  My  friend  Haroun, 
although  quite  an  exception  among 
Moslems  in  education  and  liberality  of 
thought,  was  no  exception  in  this  matter, 
and  pursued  etiquette  with  punctilious 
exactitude.  He  rose  from  his  divan  at 
my  approach  to  do  me  especial  honor, 
and  although  a  fortnight  had  barely 
elapsed  since  our  last  meeting,  yet  we 
rushed  into  each  other's  arms,  leaning 
first  to  the  right  and  then  to  the  left : 
then  he  seized  me  by  the  hand,  bringing 
the  palms  together  and  grasping  my 
thumb,  which  he  wrenched  backward 
and  forward,  exclaiming,  or  rather  shout- 
ing, "Sel  'a  'mat  —  Tei  'yebeen  "  ("I 
hope  you  are  well  or  safe  ")  over  and 
over  again.  To  all  such  ejaculations 
you  have  to  be  ready  with  your  reply. 
Indeed,  so  great  is  the  excitement  "got 
up  "  for  these  occasions  that  you  become 
absolutely  warmed  up  to  your  work. 
My  friend  continued  to  shout  with  gusto, 
sometimes  gasping  forth  the  exclamation, 
"  Ow-hash-'tene  !"  ("  Thou  hast  made  us 
desolate  by  thine  absence  ").  Then,  as 
customary,  he  proceeded  with  compli- 
mentary interrogations  as  to  my  rela- 
tives, none  of  whom  he  had  ever  heard 
of.  What  appears  perhaps  most  comical 
to  the  foreigner  is  the  sudden  manner 
in  which  the  Orientals  decline  into  their 
normal  dignified  apathy  after  these  ex- 
uberant exhibitions  of  feeling.  After  all, 
anything  is  a  Godsend  for  whiling  away 
the  long  weary  hours  in  that  hot  climate, 
where  thinking  is  a  labor  and  a  bore. 

Upon  entering  a  house  the  ancient 
custom  should  be  observed  of  removing 
the  shoes  or  the  outer  shoes ;  but  as 
that  would  have  reduced  me  to  my 
socks,  and  as,  moreover,  the  unlacing 
of  heavy  gaiter-boots  of  European  man- 
ufacture would  have  been  ridiculous,  I 
entered  my  friend's  presence  shod.  I 
was  at  his  house  a  privileged  guest : 
nevertheless,  I  avoided  stepping  on  the 
small  carpets  that  were  spread  here  and 
there.  My  friend  conducted  me  to  the 
divan  to  the  right,  and  he  squatted  upon 


the  crimson  silk  cushions  a  la  Turc, 
while  I  seated  myself  after  the  manner 
of  Europeans.  Servants  came  in  with 
chibooks,  and  coffee  was  served,  Arab 
fashion,  in  small  porcelain  egg-shaped 
cups  enclosed  in  metallic  holders  of  fil- 
agree-work. Washing  of  hands  and  all 
other  processes  necessary  to  be  observed 
were  gone  through,  whilst  a  nimble-fin- 
gered boy  undid  my  shoestrings,  which 
were  only  replaced  years  after. 

Haroun  willingly  offered  to  go  with 
me  to  the  bazaar,  and  to  undertake  the 
commission  of  purchasing  a  full  Oriental 
suit,  as  otherwise  I  should  expose  my- 
self to  be  cheated ;  but  with  the  Eastern 
spirit  of  procrastination  he  suggested 
that  a  few  days'  time  would  make  no 
difference :  moreover,  he  desired  to  be 
gladdened  by  the  light  of  my  counte- 
nance. After  more  mutual  admiration 
and  complimenting,  finding  me  firm  in 
my  purpose  to  depart  on  the  morrow, 
he  concluded  to  accompany  me  to  the 
bazaar  early  the  next  morning.  Having 
settled  the  business,  we  chatted  and  puff- 
ed the  pipes  of  peace.  A  recherche  supper 
was  served  in  Eastern  style  upon  a  small 
octagonal  stand  that  looked  more  like  a 
footstool  than  a  table.  The  innovation  of 
imported  French  wines  graced  the  repast, 
but  my  host,  being  a  true  follower  of  Mo- 
hammed, only  sipped  his  sherbet  and  left 
the  unbeliever  to  enjoy  his  generosity. 

The  fatigues  of  the  past  two  days  in- 
troduced me  to  a  most  delightful  sleep, 
from  which  I  was 
awakened  by  the  bus- 
tling of  the  pigeons 
against  my  latticed 
window.  The  sun 
had  long  risen,  and 
the  city  was  in  com- 
motion. I  found  my 
friend  awaiting  me  to 
do  the  honors  of  the 
house  by  offering  the 
first  repast,  which  in 
the  East  is  a  light  one. 
The  principal  dish 
was,  as  is  customary, 
honey  and  butter,  out 
the  cunning  hand  of 
the    Armenian    cook 


«  ORANGEESi 


I'' 


248 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


had  provided  a  well-milled  cup  of  choco- 
late,   a    liixurx     imported    for    Frankish 


WASHING    FEET. 

guests.  Such  a  breakfast  would  have 
been  despatched  at  home  in  fifteen  min- 
utes :  I  considered  myself  fortunate  in 
having  meandered  through  its  courses 
in  an  hour,  when,  at  the  expiration  of 
this  time,  servants  trotted  in  with  the  in- 
dispensable pipes  and  coffee ;  after  which 
Haroun  arose,  a  servant  brought  in  his 
abba  or  cloak,  and  we  went  forth  on  our 
errand,  followed  bv  the  lazv-looking-  at- 
tendant  to  carry  home  our  purchases. 

On  emerging  from  the  mean  causeway- 
on  to  the  main  street  a  most  varied  and 
picturesque  scene  w^as  presented.  Here 
was  a  person  of  importance  in  rich  cos- 
tume walking  along  with  dignity  ;  there 
was  a  party  of  staring  tourists  ;  then  the 
eye  caught  successively  Greek  monks, 
devotees,  fellahin,  richly-costumed  slaves 
— some  riding  on  camels,  others  on  asses 
— with  a  mingling  of  strange  cries  and  a 
background  of  a  Saracenic  fountain  rich 
with  carved  stone  ornaments. 


At  the  corner  of  a  street  was  a  solemn- 
looking  fellow  with  what  appeared  to  be 
a  sack  slung  under 
his  arm,  crying  in  a 
mournful  voice  "  Mo- 
yah!  moyah !"  This 
was  the  sakis  carry- 
ing his  goat-skin  of 
water,  which  was 
served  in  a  brass  cup 
he  held  in  his  hand. 
Notwithstanding  the 
recent  improvement 
in  the  water-supply  of 
Jerusalem  through  the 
magnificent  liberality 
of  that  queen  of  phil- 
anthropists. Miss  Bur- 
dett-Coutts,  so  deep- 
rooted  are  customs  in 
the  East  that  the  wa- 
ter-carrier can  still  ply 
a  good  business.  Then 
arose  another  cry,  "Or- 
angees!  orangeesi" 
coming  from  a  poorly 
but  picturesquely  clad 
girl,  selling  large,  lus- 
c  i  o  u  s  Jaffa  oranges. 
She  held  them  in  a 
graceful  and  statu- 
esque manner,  but  the  cry  she  made  was 
a  kind  of  nasal  squeal  of  most  inhar- 
monious sound.  Before  a  khan  or  coffee- 
house was  a  group  that  suggested  many 
biblical  pictures.  A  traveler  was  crouch- 
ed upon  the  ground  whilst  a  boy  washed 
his  feet.  A  fine  bearded  old  Moslem 
was  engaged  in  going  through  the  chap- 
ter of  Oriental  complimentary  inquiries 
as  to  his  friend  the  traveler's  relatives 
and  his  journey.  Again  I  observe^  the 
force  of  custom,  for  although  water  in 
Jerusalem  is  now  comparatively  abun- 
dant, yet  the  attendant  followed  the 
habit  founded  on  its  scarcity  by  drib- 
bling out  a  few  drops  at  a  time  from  a 
small  antique  earthenware  cruse.  As 
we  entered  the  bazaar  the  throng  of  peo- 
ple compressed  into  such  confined  cause- 
ways became  quite  dense,  and  the  noise 
fearful,  whilst  a  general  chattering  arose 
from  either  side.  Here  my  friend  Ha- 
roun met  his  business-agent,  an  Arme- 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


J  49 


nian,  a  shrewd,  obsequious,  but  fo.x-eyed- 
looking  fellow,  attired  in  what  appeared 
to  be  a  very  long  dressing-gown  with  a 
narrow  standing  collar,  and  a  very  tall, 
queer-looking  cap.  Haroun  asked  the 
fox  -  eyed  -  looking  lawyer  whether  his 
Frankish  friend's  firman  had  yet  been 
made  out.  I  had  many  days  previously 
requested  friend  Haroun  to  procure  me 
a  firman  or  passport,  which  the  Arme- 
nian coolly  informed  us  had  been  in 
preparation  since  that  time,  and  was  still 
in  the  hands  of  the  scribe.  To  be  in  a 
hurry  in  the  East  is  to  make  yourself 
ridiculous — to  exhibit  the  slightest  vexa- 
tion or  impatience  is  worse  still.  That 
delays  are  dangerous  never  enters  the 
Oriental  mind ;  and  whereas  it  is  with 
us  a  matter  of  difficulty  to  find  time 
enough,  in  the  East  all  the  difficulty  is 
to  kill  time.  I  greatly  feared  that  this 
was  but  the  precursor  of  a  series  of  de- 
lays which,  although  disconcerting  to 
me,  seemed  to  be  perfectly  e7i  rcg/e  to 
my  friend.  Giving  a  parting  injunction 
to  the  fox -eyed  Armenian  to  induce 
some  despatch  in  the  scribe,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  purchase  the  garments  that 
were  to  convert  me  into  ari  Arab. 

An  Oriental  bazaar  is  a  wonderful 
place  to  a  stranger — a  masquerade  in 
which  all  is  real,  a  constantly -moving 
panorama  of  strange  life,  a  stream  of 
ever-varying  color.  Around  me  were 
Arabs  and  Turks,  northern  Syrians, 
with  their  fur-lined  jackets,  Jews  in 
black,  Armenians  in  blue,  Latin  and 
Greek  monks,  priests  and  parsons,  whose 
white  chokers  and  black  cloth  were  crop- 
ping up  everywhere,  tourists  of  all  na- 
tionalities gaping  and  staring,  and  a 
legion  of  humanity  too  numerous  and 
varied  for  description.  Each  shop  was 
like  a  little  stand  or  box,  divided  from 
its  neighbor  by  a  rail.  The  largest  por- 
tion of  available  space  in  these  queer 
little  open  shops  appeared  to  be  appro- 
priated by  the  proprietors,  who  smoked 
and  sipped  coffee  in  the  imperturbable 
manner  of  the  East,  apparently  utterly 
indifferent  to  their  interest  until  you 
came  to  the  bargaining,  when  they 
proved  to  be  wide  awake  and  sharp 
enough.     These   merchants    never    stir 


from  the  divan  upon  which  they  squat. 
Their  stock  in  trade  is  so  carefully  pack- 
ed and  parceled  as  to  appear  very  scanty. 
With  one  of  these  my  friend  Haroun 
now  disputed  over  the  price  of  a  turban- 
cloth  for  me,  whilst  the  merchant,  to 
gain   temporary   advantage    by   delay. 


/ 


THE  ARMENIAN. 

was  offering  his  customer  coffee  and  a 
pipe. 

We  at  last  left  the  bazaar  and  arrived 
at  the  stall  or  office  of  the  scribe.  After 
much  circumlocution  and  a  liberal  gurg- 
ling of  the  hookah,  the  venerable-look- 
ing sage  fumbled  in  an  antique  clasped 
trunk  in  front  of  him,  out  of  which  he 
brought  two  or  three  heavy  reed  pens 
looking  like  sticks,  a  knife,  a  pair  of 
scissors  to  trim  the  edges  of  the  paper, 
and  a  vessel  of  ink  of  a  gummy,  viscid 
character.      The   paper   is   very   thick, 


250 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


liAZAAR. 

mostly  of  Venetian  or  Parisian  manufac- 
ture, heavily  glazed.  A  strip  or  spatula 
of  ivory  is  used  to  trim  the  nibs  of  the  reed, 
as  we  trim  quill  pens  on  our  thumb 
nails.  Finally,  he  brought  forth  my 
firman,  a  very  imposing -looking 
affair,  commencing  with  the  usual 
form,  "  In  the  name  of  God  the 
merciful,"  etc.,  and  terminating 
with  a  grand  flourish,  which  I 
supposed  was  a  signature,  but 
which  was  really  the  date,  reck- 
oned from  the  flight  of  Moham- 
med. The  signature  and  seal  are 
always  at  the  top  of  the  page  or 
instrument,  and  suggest  the  tracks 
of  some  lively  insect :  in  this  case 
it  was  a  tremendous  seal  that 
would  have  crowded  out  the  bar- 
ons of  Magna  Charta.  The  im- 
portance attached  to  the  seal,  the 
sign-manual,  is  greater  than  that 
of  the  actual  signature,  and  a 
signet-ring  wrapped  in  a  dirty 
piece  of  rag  is  guarded  with  jeal- 
ous care  by  every  Arab  sheik. 
After  paying  sundry  fees  and 


charges,  and  making  a  present 
of  backsheesh,  we  obtained  pos- 
session of  the  firman  and  bent 
our  steps  homeward.  With  much 
readiness  I  cast  away  my  Eu- 
ropean clothes,  and  by  the  assist- 
ance of  two  servants,  who  both 
jabbered  away  at  the  same  time, 
1  learned  my  first  lesson  of  how  to 
dress  in  Eastern  style.  The  dif- 
ficulty of  fitting  on  the  garnients 
is  not  very  great,  as  they  are  all 
roomy,  and  but  for  the  length  of 
the  libas  a  man  might  dress  in 
woman's  clothes  or  a  woman  in 
man's.  Upon  presenting  myself 
to  my  friend  he  seemed  much 
delighted  and  amused,  especial- 
ly at  my  awkward  manner  of 
squatting,  which  had  the  eftect 
of  twisting  my  legs  so  that  I  was 
seized  with  cramp.  He  was  kind 
enough  to  teach  me  how  to  squat, 
smoke,  eat  and  salute  like  a  gen- 
uine Mohammedan.  My  mule 
was  ordered  to  be  in  readiness 
on  the  morrow  to  conduct  me 
out  of  the  city,  to  start  on  my  journey 
to  Succoth  by.  Bethel  and  Shechem. 
After  a  good  night's  rest  and  a  de- 


THE   SCRIBE. 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


251 


lightful  repast,  over  which  we  hngered 
for  nearly  two  hours,  I  parted  from  Ha- 
roun,  first  thanking  him  cordially  for 
his  hospitality  and  kind  attentions.  Be- 
sides a  pack  on  the  mule,  I  cloaked  my- 
self in  my  abba  and  girded  up  my  loins, 
placing  all  my  extra  luggage  in  the 
folds.  An  Arab  will  often  carry  all  his 
personal  effects  within  the  folds  of  his 
abba,  held  in  this  receptacle  by  the 
girdle  or  cord  which  gathers  the  cloak 
around  the  waist.  My  mule-pack  con- 
tained a  blanket,  a  cooking-apparatus, 
a  heavy  camel's-hair  tent-cloth,  with  its 


cords,  nails  and  short  sticks  lashed  to 
the  animal's  back.  I  was  already  some- 
thing of  a  campaigner — could  pitch  my 
own  tent,  cook  my  dinner  and  turn  in 
snugly,  independent  of  Arabs  and  all 
other  torments.  I  carried  no  arms  for 
personal  defence.  The  absurd  manner 
in  which  every  tourist,  lay  and  clerical, 
arms  himself  with  a  revolver,  invites 
and  courts  the  dangers  that  would  be 
avoided  by  a  more  peaceful  demeanor. 
I  now  left  Jerusalem  by  the  Damas- 
cus gate,  having  passed  through  the 
thronged  streets  unnoticed,  although  an 


BETHEL. 


object  of  the  most  absorbing  attention 
to  myself.  My  road  extended  straight 
before  me,  in  the  direction  of  Nablous. 
The  vernal  tints  of  the  not  too  abun- 
dant foliage  lent  an  agreeable  aspect  to 
what  would  otherwise  have  been  an 
uninteresting  country,  but  the  heat  was 
oppressive,  and  the  dusty  thorn-bushes 
that  bestrewed  the  pathway  rendered 
traveling  still  more  tedious.  Bethel 
was  only  a  ten-mile  ride,  but  it  was  late 
in  the  afternoon  ere  I  ascended  the 
low-browed  hill  and  entered  the  village, 
which  lies  somewhat  off  the  direct  road. 
These  ancient  villages  are  places  to  be 


avoided  by  travelers,  owing  to  the  ex- 
ceeding uncleanliness  of  the  inhabitants 
and  their  abodes.  I  therefore  selected  a 
station  on  rising  ground,  near  the  ruins 
of  an  old  tower  in  the  outskirts.  Some 
Arab  tents  were  clustered  hard  by,  but 
my  seclusion  was  sufficiently  secured, 
and  I  proceeded  to  pitch  my  tent,  com- 
mitting so  many  blunders  in  the  course 
of  the  operation  that  had  niy  neighbors 
caught  sight  of  me,  I  should  at  once 
have  been  recognized  as  a  stranger  in 
the  land,  and  singled  out  for  back- 
sheesh. 

At  daybreak  I  resumed  my  journey, 


252 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


still  east  of  the  road  to  Nablous.  On 
approaching  Shiloh  the  country  became 
more  varied  and  picturesque,  and  the 
people  somewhat  more  curious  and  im- 
pertinent. Shiloh  is  now  called  Seilun. 
Nothing  remains  of  this  interesting  site 
but    some    scattered    ruins    amidst   the 


broken  ground.  There  must  have  been 
a  time  when  the  surrounding  hills  were 
leveled  into  terraces  and  richly  cul- 
tivated, but  now  they  arc  barren, 
olive  trees  alone  peeping  up  here  and 
there. 

Another  encampment  was  followed  by 


further  wanderings,  which  brought  me 
to  a  region  more  fertile  and  picturesque, 
where  many  caravans  and  travelers,  as 
well  as  shepherds  with  their  flocks,  were 
pushing  on  toward  Nablous.  Some 
groups  of  travelers  had  halted  at  a  spot 
for  which  I  had  been  on  the  lookout. 
It  was  Jacob's  Well,  and  thither  I  now 


directed  my  mule.  A  few  scattered 
stones  are  all  that  indicate  the  former 
existence  of  a  constructed  well,  but  it  is 
generally  admitted  that  this  is  the  spot 
spoken  of  as  Jacob's  Well  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  The 
question  will  occur  to  any  visitor  why 
the    patriarch    should    have    sunk   this 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


253 


llfki.  Ijiiik;  'Ii  I  .liiiiiiiriMiLf|r/hi:i'.'iiti^imiii'i<H\miiiiiiiuij?i'niil 


254 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


deep  well  when  there  was  abundant 
water  at  hand  a  little  to  the  west ;  and 
the  most  plausible  explanation  seems  to 
be  that  the  water,  however  abundant, 
was  regarded  as  private  property,  and 
its  use  jealously  restricted. 

As  the  sun  was  fast  declining,  I  pur- 
sued my  journey,  watching  the  long 
shadows  of  a  caravan' of  camels  in  ad- 
vance. Isolated  huts  now  appeared, 
giving  evidences  of  the  approach  to  a 
city.  Outside  one  of  these  an  Arab 
woman  appeared  in  the  distance  to  be 


violently  shaking  some  animal  sus- 
pended by  the  neck  from  a  vine  fence. 
Knowing  the  barbarity  sometimes  prac- 
ticed by  the  natives,  I  approached  the 
hut,  and  found  to  my  satisfaction  that 
what  I  had  mistaken  for  an  animal  was 
merely  a  skin  filled  with  milk,  and  that 
the  woman  was  churning  in  the  mode 
practiced  by  her  ancestors  thousands  of 
years  ago.  The  butter  thus  procured  is 
a  horrible  substitute  for  the  real  article. 
In  winter  it  is  of  the  consistency  of 
honey,  and  in  the  summer  of  oil :    the 


JACOB'S   WELL. 


;r'-vK-'-^ 


olive  oil,  fresh  and  sweet,  is  always  more 
acceptable. 

A  sharp  turn  of  the  hill,  and  I  was 
looking  down  upon  the  lovely  valley  of 
Mukhna,  with  Shechem  at  the  farther 
end,  steeped  in  the  rich  tints  of  the  set- 
ting sun,  and  flanked  by  purple  fringes 
of  hills  and  the  green  and  brown  sides 
of  Gerizim.  This  valley  is  unsurpassed 
for  loveliness,  its  beauty  being  enhanced 
by  the  surrounding  barrenness.  It  lies 
eighteen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea- 
level,  and  cooling  breezes  are  wafted 
over  it  in  the  most  sultry  weather.     It 


is  filled  with  fair  gardens  and  orchards, 
and  watered  by  streamlets  from  no  less 
than  eighty  fountains.  The  olive,  pome- 
granate and  fig  tree  crop  up  everyM-here, 
and  the  verdure  of  the  fields  throws  into 
relief  the  numerous  clusters  of  dwell- 
ings that  stud  the  vale  :  "a  watered  gar- 
den, a  spring  of  water  that  faileth  not." 
(Isaiah  Iviii.  ii.) 

Nablous  boasts  of  a  considerable  cot- 
ton crop,  which  brought  a  large  price 
during  the  immense  demand  for  cotton 
occasioned  by  our  war.  This  gave  an 
impetus  to  the   community  which   has 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


■00 


been  creditably  sustained.  The  city  is 
a  very  ancient  one,  alleged,  on  what 
seems  sufficient  evidence,  to  be  identical 
with  the  Shechem  of  the  Bible.  It  lies 
on  the  slope  of  the  valley  formed  by 
Mounts  Ebal  and  Gerizim.  Shechem 
was  one  of  the  cities  of  refuge,  and 
it  was  here  that  the  people  assembled 
to  hear  the  law  of  Moses  read, 
"half  of  them  over  against 
Gerizim,  and  half  of  them 
over    against    Mount    Ebal."  _.^ 

At  the  point  where  this  mass- 
meeting  was  held  the  valley 
is  not  fifteen  hundred  feet 
wide.  The  city  is  a  straggling 
one,  built  along  the  base  of 
Gerizim :  its  streets  are  ex- 
ceedingly narrow  and  rugged, 
and  in  the  rainy  season  tor- 
rents run  through  its  narrow 
causeways.  The  inhabitants 
are  unusually  active  for  Ori- 
entals. Weavers  are  busily  at 
work,  and  fragrant  odors  are 
borne  upon  the  air,  emanating 
from  orange  and  other  fruit 
trees  cultivated  amongst  the 
houses. 

After  leaving  Nablous  the 
country  soon  became  wilder 
and  traveling  more  difficult. 
At  length  the  Jordan  was  sight- 
ed, like  a  silver  thread  in  the 
distance,  far  down  in  its  quiet 
valley. 

The  most  remarkable  fea- 
ture of  Palestine  is  the  valley 
of  the  Jordan,  which  extends  like  a  deep 
ditch  from  the  foot  of  Hermon  south  to 
the  Dead  Sea,  continuing  in  the  valley 
of  the  Arabah  to  the  Red  Sea  at  Aka- 
bah.  It  has  a  uniform  width  of  about 
ten  miles,  and  is  everywhere  below  the 
ocean-level,  reaching  its  lowest  depth  at 
the  Dead  Sea,  which,  rising  or  falling 
with  the  rainy  or  dr)'  season,  has  an 
average  level  of  1312  feet  below  that  of 
the  ocean.  The  appearance  of  the  whole 
is  that  of  a  plain  worn  into  rounded  knolls 
by  water  from  the  upper  regions  of  Sa- 
maria and  Gilead.  The  strata  exposed 
in  the  water-worn  torrent-beds  are  lime- 
stone, rolled  boulders,  pebbles  of  flinty 


sandstone,  tufas,  marl,  chalky  deposits  or 
pure  chalk,  conglomerates,  sand,  grav- 
el, clay  and  detritus.  The  lower  terrace 
is  luxuriant  in  vegetation,  producing  a 
great  variety  of  trees,  plants,  flowers  and 
grasses.  South  of  Masada  these  knolls 
are  left  by  the  elements  in  tall  conical 
pinnacles,  suggesting  works  of  art. 


WOMAN   CHURNING. 


Bitumen  is  drawn  up  from  wells  one 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  deep,  near  Has- 
beiya,  on  the  Upper  Jordan,  and  masses 
are  found  along  the  shore  in  which  peb- 
bles of  all  kinds  are  thickly  embedded. 
It  is  also  found  floating  on  the  bay  south 
of  Lisan,  where  it  is  supposed  to  rise 
from  the  bottom  after  earthquakes,  which 
are  frequent  in  that  region.  Bituminous 
shales  and  springs  impregnated  with 
bitumen  occur  in  the  wadys  all  around 
the  sea.  Sulphur  is  found  in  the  plain 
of  Jericho  and  nearly  all  around  the 
Dead  Sea,  and  it  appears  also  in  the 
hot  springs  of  Callirhoe  (Herod's  resort) 
and  at  Tiberias,   as   well   as   in  many 


2^6 


WANDERINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


small  springs  on  the  west  shore  of  the 


sea. 


Succoth  is  a  type  of  the  scenery  of  the 
Upper  Jordan.  It  was  here  that  the  sa- 
cred vessels  of  the  Temple  were  cast, 
moulds  being  made  in  the  deep  clay 
banks   between   Succoth  and   Zarthan, 


whence  now  a  very  fine  and  hard  clay 
is  carried  to  Damascus  and  other  cities 
for  use  in  casting  metals. 

The  scenery  along  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan  is  now  and  then  striking,  and 
sometimes,  where  a  wide  bend  of  the 
river  affords  a  bit  of  open  water  fringed 


SHECHF.M. 


with  foliage,  is  quite  beautiful,  and  would 
be  enjoyable  if  it  were  not  for  the  intense 
heat  of  the  sun.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the 
five  Cities  of  the  Plain  were  destroyed 
by  fire,  for  everything  is  so  hot  and  dry 
that  one  spark  of  fire  would  set  the 
whole  in  a  blaze. 

My  pilgrimage  ended  at  the  head  of 
the  Red  Sea,  near  the  tongue  of  land 
which  reaches  out  into  the  water  to  a 
pile  of  loose  stones,  sometimes  described 
as  a  ruined  city.  It  might  have  been  a 
rude  fort,  like  those  in  the  lakes  near 
Damascus,  but  there  are  no  wrought 
stones  visible.  At  high  water  the  tongue 
is  covered  and  the  heap  of  stones  forms 
an  island. 


There  was  one  strange  experience  on 
that  visit  to  this  dry  and  burnt  district : 
not  a  human  being  was  visible  for  the 
whole  day,  and  no  fires,  indicating  camps, 
were  seen  at  night.  In  the  whole  range 
of  my  journey  I  found  no  more  desolate 
and  utterly  deserted  place.  In  no  other 
locality  under  heaven  is  there  so  pecu- 
liar and  affecting  a  spot  from  which  to 
view  the  rising  or  setting  sun  as  on  the 
north  bay  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  tall 
ranges  of  mountains  close  to  the  water 
on  either  side,  the  deep  hot  valley,  the 
quiet  glassy  lake,  the  strange  history  of 
the  place,  combine  to  flood  the  soul  with 
profound  and  unspeakable  emotions. 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 


Travel 
G118 

.M26 


